The building in Lucknow where a fire killed 15 people on Monday was operating as a commercial establishment without adequate fire safety measures, emergency exits or smoke ventilation systems, according to a first information report (FIR) registered by the police.
The FIR, lodged at Aliganj police station, names four people, including the building owner and operators of a pet shop and an animation centre. Police said all four have been arrested.
The case has been filed under sections relating to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempt to commit culpable homicide, and rash or negligent acts endangering human life, as well as provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Fire and Emergency Services Act.
According to the FIR, the three-storey building in Aliganj's Sector D 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.
Police said the fire broke out at the pet shop and clinic at about 2:30pm on 22 June. Firefighters, along with personnel from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local police, carried out rescue operations.
The complaint alleged that the building owners and those associated with the businesses "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.
The FIR also alleged that the building's electrical systems were "highly irregular" and that there was no mechanism to allow smoke to escape.
It further alleged that air-conditioner outdoor units and electrical equipment had been installed in an unsafe manner and that "no safety measures were maintained to deal with such emergencies".
The complaint stated that due to these shortcomings, 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.
The blaze resulted in the deaths of 15 people, mostly students, due to suffocation and burn injuries, while nine others were injured and admitted to the King George's Medical University (KGMU) Trauma Centre, according to the FIR.
Those who died included Sagar, Nilesh, Anamika, Sanyam, Anuchha, Sukhmani, Aditya Srivastava, Jyoti, Bhavishya, Abdul Rahman, Suraj Bhaah, Bhaahjan, Jaynil Chakraborty, Mohammad Ammar and Sumalya.
Police said so far they have arrested pet shop operator Ram Krishna Upadhyay (43), building owner Virendra Prasad Shukla (62), animation centre operator Tushar Krishna Jaiswal (31) and Suresh Kumar Sahoo.
Further legal action is underway.
The FIR also includes unnamed persons allegedly responsible for the incident.
While a further police probe is underway, the UP government has separately formed a two-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), which also began its investigation on Tuesday morning.
The SIT will submit its report to the government within seven days, panel member ADG Lucknow Zone Praveen Kumar told reporters.
(With additional inputs from PTI)