Lucknow fire tragedy: Officials identify 15 victims; families informed
Lucknow: Fifteen out of 18 people who lost their lives in the Lucknow fire incident have been identified, authorities said on Tuesday.
The deceased individuals have been identified as Shahjan, Sukhmani Singh, Aditya Srivastava, Jwanil Chakraborty, Sagar Pant, Nilesh, Sayyam, Bhavishya, Jyoti, Abdul Rahman, Anamika Samant, Suraj Singh, Md Ammar and Teejraj — all residents of Lucknow; and Somalya, a resident of West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas.
Most of the victims are reportedly between 20 and 24 years of age.
Officials said that the families of the victims have been informed
Two of the injured have been identified as Lavpreet and Jayant, both residents of Lucknow. They are currently undergoing treatment at King George’s Medical University, officials said.
Meanwhile, an FIR has been registered against the owners of a commercial building and others in connection with the devastating fire in Lucknow’s Aliganj area on Monday evening.
The FIR was lodged against six named individuals. The case has been lodged at Aliganj Police Station under Sections 105, 110, 125 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Three building owners (Ramkrishna Upadhyay, Virendra Prasad Shukla, and Tushank Krishna Jaiswal) were arrested. Hours later, police updated that a fourth accused person (Suresh Kumar Sahu, the studio operator) had also been taken into custody.
According to the FIR, the three-storey building located in Sector-D near Purania Chauraha housed a pet shop and clinic on the ground and first floors, a video gaming zone and 3D animation centre on the second floor, and an IT networking office on the third floor. The fire reportedly broke out at around 2:30 P.M. in the pet shop and clinic, filling the entire building with thick smoke. The animals trapped in the pet shop also perished in the fire.
The FIR states that the building lacked basic fire safety measures and emergency evacuation facilities.
Investigators also noted that the structure had only one entry and exit point, no smoke ventilation system, and electrical installations that were allegedly maintained in an unsafe manner.
Police had earlier named building owner Virendra Shukla, Tushank Krishna Jaiswal, pet shop owner Ramkrishna Upadhyay, Suresh Kumar, and other unidentified persons as accused.
The FIR alleges that the owners and managers knowingly ignored safety requirements despite being aware that such negligence could endanger lives.