The building gutted in a fire that killed 15 people was operating as a commercial establishment with only one main entry point, no emergency exit and no measures to prevent smoke accumulation, police said on Tuesday as investigators and grieving families alike tried to make sense of the tragedy.
A day later, the three-floor building once buzzing with activity stood testimony to the negligence that was. Neon coloured packets shining through ash covered floors, shelves lined with goods and a fire extinguisher probably never used… detritus from the fire Monday afternoon littered the charred building reduced to mangled metal and torn wires hanging from blackened ceilings.
The two-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to probe the cause of the fire and possible lapses promised to submit its report at the earliest and the Lucknow Development Authority issued a demolition notice to the building in north Lucknow’s upscale Aliganj area over violations and illegal operations.
The building housed an animation centre and a pet shop. Police said four people have been arrested so far — Ram Krishna Upadhyay (43), building owner Virendra Prasad Shukla (62), animation centre operator Tushar Krishna Jaiswal (31) and Suresh Kumar Sahoo.
Four officials have also been suspended, including officials from the electricity department, fire department and LDA.
The SIT members visited the incident site on Tuesday, conducted a thorough inspection of the entire building and also met the injured persons currently receiving treatment at King George’s Medical University (KGMU).
Additionally, a team from the Uttar Pradesh Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) collected crucial evidence from the site, an official statement said.
During the day, large crowds gathered outside the building. Among the 15 people killed and nine injured are many students who attended class at the centre. Scores of people were trapped inside as flames and smoke engulfed the building.
In 2016, the three-storey building was issued a demolition order over unauthorized construction but it was revoked less than two months later.
“We have once again issued a demolition notice over (construction) violations for the Aliganj building where the fire incident took place on Monday,” LDA Vice Chairperson Prathamesh Kumar told PTI.
“We have also initiated inquiry against officials for laxity and action will be taken against them,” Kumar said. The process to identify such officials and their role in the negligence has begun.
Authorities have also launched a crackdown against its own officials in connection with the illegal operation of the residential building as a commercial space.
The Lucknow incident took place just weeks after a fire at a bed-and-breakfast facility in Delhi’s Malviya Nagar area claimed 23 lives, including many foreigners visiting the capital for medical treatment.
The two-member SIT formed on the directions of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath comprises Additional Chief Secretary (Tourism, Religious Affairs and Culture) Amrit Abhijat and Additional Director General of Police, Lucknow Zone, Praveen Kumar. It has been asked to submit its report within seven days.
“We will investigate all aspects of the incident. We will complete the probe within the stipulated time and ensure necessary action,” Kumar told reporters at the site.
“Photographs of the site have been taken from various angles, and evidence is being collected to expedite the investigation. Individuals and departments connected with the fire incident will also be questioned. The final report will be prepared after all stages of the inquiry are completed,” Abhijat said.
The FIR in the case spelt out details of the alleged negligence.
It said the fire broke out around 2.30 pm. It alleged that the building owners and persons associated with the establishments “had not made any arrangements for fire safety” and that there was “no arrangement for immediate emergency exit or entry” in the building.
“It had only one main route for entry and exit, and there was no other exit door or emergency door,” the FIR stated.
Electrical arrangements in the building were “highly irregular” and that there was no system to allow smoke to escape. Besides, air-conditioner outdoor units and electrical equipment were installed inside the premises in an unsafe manner, and “no safety measures were maintained to deal with such emergencies”.
According to the complaint, fire personnel, police and disaster response teams had to cut through walls to enter the building and rescue people.
“The owners and managers were aware that in such emergencies, lives could be lost, but despite this, negligence was shown, and the lives of others were put at risk,” the FIR alleged.
Anguished local residents alleged that commercial establishments were operating illegally in the primarily residential area.
“This is like a ticking time bomb. If commercial buildings continue to operate in residential areas by ignoring rules, the consequences can be disastrous,” said Hemant Srivastava, who stays in the area.
The chief minister cancelled almost all his scheduled programmes. The ruling BJP also announced the suspension of all its organisational programmes scheduled for Tuesday, expressing condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the incident.
Opposition parties attacked the Adityanath government with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav alleging that “corruption has overtaken regulatory standards”.
Yadav, who visited the injured at the hospital, said, “If safety norms had been followed, such a major tragedy would not have happened. So many people lost their lives because safety regulations were not complied with.”
Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai Rai alleged that the incident took place due to the “incompetence and apathy of the government and the administration”.
A condolence meeting was held at the state Congress headquarters in Lucknow, the party said in a statement.
The AAP demanded registration of an FIR against officials and also questioned how the commercial building continued to operate despite a demolition order issued in 2016.
Away from the official action, 15 families grieved the ones they had lost to the fire.
Among them was Kolkata’s Samanta family, which mourned the death of 30-year-old Anamika Samanta who had been working in Lucknow for the past three years.
She was soon to marry Neelesh, who also worked at the animation centre and died in the fire, fate’s cruellest twist.
“She spoke to me on Monday morning. We talked every day. I never imagined that would be our last conversation,” said her mother Sulekha. The family reached the city on Tuesday, hoping against hope for a miracle.
Instead, they were confronted with a heartbreaking reality at the mortuary. “Only her face was visible. We were able to identify her through that. The rest of her body was burnt,” a family member said.
In Kanpur, the families of friends Sanyam Vij and and Surajbhan Singh, both working as 3D artists at the animation studio, grappled with the enormity of their loss.
Sanyam was 28 and Surajbhan 24.
The stories were many, their grief the same.
An ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each for those injured has also been announced.