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Lucknow hotel blaze: Probe panel likely to submit report today
Liquor bottles on second floor caused the fire to spread to the upper floor, says official. Forensics examined every part of the hotel to ascertain the cause of fire, while the police and fire services team investigated fire safety arrangements and other lapses on the premises
LUCKNOW A high-level committee formed to probe into the Levana Suites fire tragedy, which claimed four lives on Monday, is expected to submit its report to the state government on Thursday.
The committee comprised of commissioner of police (CP) SB Shiradkar and divisional commissioner Roshan Jacob. The two officers had largely completed their probe with the help of forensic experts, fire services and police personnel and a team of the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), said police officials.
The forensic team examined each and every part of the hotel to ascertain the cause of fire, while the police and fire services team investigated the fire safety arrangements and other lapses on the hotel premises. The LDA team had assessed the flaws in the building’s construction.
“During probe, police commissioner SB Shiradkar went to the hotel rooms where four people died and found several flaws at the site, including poor arrangements of evacuation, defective firefighting equipment, improper training of hotel staff and improper construction at numerous points,” said a police officer.
According to the officer, it was also found out that all four lives could have been saved, if the arrangements were adequate. “The team found liquor bottles on the second floor, and there is a bar on the floor above it. Experts said due to the inflammable nature of alcohol, the fire tore open liquor bottles, causing the fire to spread to the third floor,” he added.
The police had earlier filed an FIR under IPC sections 304 (causing death due to negligent act), 308 (risking people’s lives by making them unconscious with their act) against four people, including the hotel’s two owners Rahul and Rohit Agarwal, Rohit’s father Pawan Agarwal, and the hotel’s general manager Sagar Srivastava on Monday evening. Three of them, including Rahul, Rohit Agarwal and Sagar Srivastava were sent to 14 days’ judicial custody on Tuesday.
The allegations mentioned in the FIR lodged on the complaint of Hazratganj police station senior sub-inspector Daya Shankar Dwivedi had stated that no fire safety measures were in place at the hotel. Besides, the hotel did not have emergency entry and exit routes.
