It is in a sad state of mind that I write these lines. Fifteen youths lost their lives when flames engulfed a building in Lucknow due to a suspected short circuit.
The youths were undergoing training in gaming/coding at the game zone. More than six of them are fighting for their lives in hospital. Most of the deaths were caused due to asphyxiation.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath cut short his Aligarh visit, rushed to Lucknow and met the victims. A two-member Special Investigation Team has been set up. Four persons including the owner of the building have been arrested and four departmental employees have been suspended.
On Tuesday, orders were issued to demolish the building.
Imagine the trauma that the parents of those dead may be going through. All their hopes and aspirations for their offsprings have been reduced to ashes.
The main question: Who are those who had the powers to grant permission for running a gaming center in this building, particularly when all exits were closed?
How did the fire department issue NOC to the owner of the building? If there was no NOC, how was the gaming-coding center allowed to run there?
The probe must not be limited to this building alone.
There are many such centers which are being run in buildings. These could become tinderboxes.
The authorities must direct the owners to shut those centers or else, send bulldozers if they refuse to cooperate.
Bihar : Send the killers of Bharat Bhushan Tiwari to jail
There is political turbulence in Bihar after Bharat Bhushan Tiwari of Bhojpur was shot dead by police in what the police claims to be an encounter.
Several parties and organizations are staging protests demanding action against the culprits working in the police force.
On Monday, the Supreme Court declined an urgent hearing on a petition seeking CBI or judicial probe against the police officials.
Sensing political unrest, the state police has suspended an SHO, two sub-inspectors, an ASI and a constable.
Senior police officials admitted that the encounter was a mistake and it was a result of negligence.
The video of the encounter clearly shows the police was in haste to kill the victim.
It is a fact that Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary had promised to send criminals to hell (‘jahannum’), but his police implemented this without applying its mind.
On encounters, Bihar Police wants to follow the footsteps of Uttar Pradesh. There are several states who want to follow Yogi Adityanath’s model. That’s when mistakes occur.
Police is free to carry out encounter of criminals, and if any criminal fires at police, it can fire back. There is nothing wrong in it, but killing somebody in the guise of a fake encounter cannot be tolerated.
If Bihar Police wants to follow the path of UP Police, it must first get the training that was imparted to UP Police.
On Monday, there was an encounter in Saharanpur, UP, where a criminal, Lallan, from Bihar was targeted, but nobody raised any question.