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Lucknow hotel fire: Two owners, GM sent to 14 days’ judicial custody
After initial probe, the hotel owners were found guilty of carrying out illegal commercial activity on a residential plot without an approval map, say LDA officials
LUCKNOW The court of chief judicial magistrate (CJM) on Tuesday remanded two owners of Levana Suites and the hotel’s general manager to 14 days’ judicial custody even as a high-level committee began a probe into the hotel fire tragedy that claimed four lives on Monday.
While the forensic team examined each and every part of the hotel to ascertain the reason behind the blaze, the police and fire services team investigated into the lapses and faulty fire safety arrangements on the premises. The LDA team evaluated the loopholes in the construction of the building and the functioning of the hotel from this location.
Cops had arrested the two owners Rohit Agarwal, Rahul Agarwal and general manager Sagar Srivastava on Monday, after initial probe into the hotel fire incident. Subsequently, the trio was presented before the court.
After hearing the plea of government advocate, the court sent all three to 14 days’ judicial custody. The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) had lodged an FIR against them at the Hazratganj police station late on Monday night.
After initial probe, the hotel owners were found guilty of carrying out illegal commercial activity on a residential plot without an approval map, said LDA officials. The development authority was probing their role in commercial activity on the residential plot.
Meanwhile, the LDA revived notices served on 140 other city hotels since 2018 for carrying out illegal construction or any other anomaly. The authority constituted several teams that will inspect these hotels to verify if complaints/anomalies for which the notices were issued had been addressed. If the LDA teams find that the issues still exist, then such hotels will be sealed.
