Lucknow Hotel Fire: Owners, General Manager Sent to 14-Day Judicial Custody

The authorities said that the Levana hotel building will be sealed and demolished.

A massive fire broke out at Hotel Levana in Lucknow's Hazratganj on Monday, 5 September. Rescue operations are underway at the site, with officials of emergency services engaged in evacuating those present in the building.

(Photo: PTI)

A day after a massive fire at Lucknow's Levana hotel claimed four lives on Monday, 5 September, owners Rahul Agarwal and Rohit Agarwal along with general manager Sagar Srivastava were arrested and sent to 14-day-judicial custody on Tuesday.

On Monday, the authorities claimed that there was no approved map of the Levana hotel building and hence it will be sealed and demolished.

District Magistrate Suryapal Gangwar said that according to the hotel owner, there are 30 rooms in the building and 18 were occupied at the time of the incident. There were 35-40 people there and some had left the hotel in the morning.

The cause of the fire, which erupted around 8 am, has not been ascertained yet. "It may be due to a short-circuit. The exact cause is being ascertained. The hotel owner told us that there is a banquet on the first floor where something happened," he added.

A preliminary investigation into the incident revealed that there was no approved map of the building and that prima facie, there was no fire management system in place either.

Speaking of the demolition orders, Lucknow Police issued a statement saying:

"In the absence of an approved map of the hotel, effective disciplinary action should be ensured against the officers/employees involved in running the hotel."

Amidst the investigation into the incident, CM Adityanath visited the injured in the hospital and also announced free treatment for them.