After facing suspension, more trouble seems to be in store for the 15 officials held guilty for their negligence that led to the fire tragedy in a hotel in Lucknow that claimed four lives.
Action was taken against the officials late on Saturday night on the direction of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Action will also be initiated against four retired officers for their negligence and irregularities.
The action was initiated after a two-member probe panel comprising Lucknow Police Commissioner SB Shiradkar and Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Roshan Jacob submitted its report to the government.
Sources said that after placing the accused officials under suspension, the government is planning to direct the sleuths of the Vigilance Establishment to also look into corruption charges against them.
After making a preliminary probe against the officials, the Vigilance Establishment will go ahead with further legal proceedings by registering a case of disproportionate assets against the officials against whom the charges of corruption will be established.
Sources said that in their report submitted to the government, the two-member probe panel has hinted at some officials indulging in corrupt practices and giving undue favour to the hotel owner to carry out the business even in absence of legal formalities.
It may be mentioned that giving details of action against 15 officials late Saturday night, the state government spokesperson said, "These instructions have been given by the chief minister after receiving the inquiry report of police commissioner Lucknow and divisional commissioner Lucknow regarding the fire accident."
The chief minister had ordered stern action against the officials who were prima facie irregular and negligent in the fire incident at Hotel Levana in Lucknow.
The spokesperson said that according to the instructions of the chief minister, departmental action would be initiated against the officers of the Home Department, Energy Department, Appointment Department, Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) and Excise Department by suspending them. Action will also be taken against the retired officers as per the prevailing rules of the departments concerned.
"The departments concerned have been directed to suspend the officials and to institute departmental proceedings and take action against retired officers as per rules," the official statement reads.
The officers of the Home Department who have been suspended are Sushil Yadav (fire officer), Yogendra Prasad (fire officer-second), Vijay Kumar Singh (chief fire officer) and action will also be taken against retired chief fire officer Abhaynath Pandey.
From the Energy Department, three officers who have been suspended are Vijay Kumar Rao, assistant director (electrical safety); Ashish Kumar Mishra (junior engineer) and Rajesh Kumar Mishra (sub-divisional officer).
Mahendra Kumar Mishra, who was then posted with the LDA, has also been put under suspension from the appointments department. The other LDA officers suspended include then assistant engineer Rakesh Mohan, junior engineers Jitendra Nath Dubey, Ravindra Kumar Srivastava and Jaiveer Singh, and another officer Ram Pratap.
Action has also been initiated against retired executive engineer Arun Kumar Singh, retired executive engineer Om Prakash Mishra and retired junior engineer Ganeshi Dutt Singh of the LDA. In the Excise Department, action has been ordered against then Lucknow district excise officer Santosh Kumar Tiwari, excise inspector sector-1 in Lucknow Amit Kumar Srivastava, and deputy excise commissioner of Lucknow Division Jainendra Upadhyay.
According to sources, the report mentioned negligence as the cause of the fire and held six departments including Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), Lucknow Electricity Supply Administration (LESA), District Administration, Fire Services, Lucknow Municipal Corporation and Excise Department as responsible for the incident.
The names of officers and engineers responsible for the fire incident were mentioned in the investigation report. The report suggested action against officers of LDA and Fire services.
Further, the joint report mentioned a list of illegally-built hotels in Lucknow. It also suggested action against hotels running by flouting the guidelines.
Four people died and 10 were injured after a massive fire broke out at Hotel Levana in Lucknow's Hazratganj area in the morning hours of Monday. Following the incident, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered a joint inquiry by Lucknow divisional commissioner and Lucknow police commissioner into the cause of the fire in the hotel. The Lucknow police registered an FIR and detained the owners and general manager of Hotel Levana.
"We have detained hotel owners Rohit and Rahul Agarwal and their general manager. An FIR has been registered. Said Piyush Mordia, Joint Commissioner of Police, Lucknow.
The Lucknow administration has sealed the hotel and ordered its demolition.
"Lucknow's Levana Hotel is to be demolished. Lucknow divisional commissioner has given instructions to seal and demolish. No copy of the approved map of the hotel was given to Lucknow Development Authority (LDA)," said Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Roshan Jacob.