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Meerut fire case hearing deferred

MEERUT: The hearing of a petition against 11 persons, including four transferred senior district officials, in connection with last Monday's fire, fixed for Monday, has been deferred to Tuesday as the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate did not sit in court.

The writ petition was filed in the court of ADJM Rajesh Kumar against Brand India consumer goods fair organisers Lakhan Tomar, Ashit Gupta Siddharth Malhotra and others after the fire was believed to have been caused by a short-circuit.

The fair was inaugurated by former District Magistrate Ram Krishen at Victoria Park last Monday after which the tents were gutted in the fire.

The charges have been filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code relating to public servants disobeying the law, endangering life and safety, criminal conspiracy, furnishing false information, grievous hurt, murder and culpable homicide.

Besides Krishan and the Mela organisers, Senior Superintendent of Police Rajiv Sabharwal, Additional DM S. Dube, City SP S. S. Yadav, City Commissioner Rajender Prasad, Deputy General Manager (western Uttar Pradesh) A. K. Jain, Inspector (Civil Lines) R. P. Singh, Chief Fire Officer A. K. Chaturvedi and Brand India consumer goods fair organisers Lakhan Tomar, Ashit Gupta Siddharth Malhotra and have been named in the petition filed by advocate Manoj Saxena.

Judge Manisha accepted the petition on behalf of the ACJM who was on leave.

Another victim dies

Meanwhile, city industrialist Raj Kumar Dewan, who had been admitted to hospital after sustaining burns in the fire, has succumbed to his injuries.

He was also the director of 'Dewan Industries' and died in hospital on Sundayt evening due to heart failure. His last rites were held at Surajkund crematorium.

Candlelight marches

Paying tributes to the men, women and children who died in the horrific blaze, people took out candlelight marches in Modinagar, Hapur, Gurmukteshwar, Muradnagar, Loni and Pilakhuwa towns of Meerut and Ghaziabad districts.

People from all walks of life lit candles and marched through the streets in silent homage to the dead.

Bhavi Mehta, a computer sales girl from Mavi village near Modinagar who survived the tragedy and marched in solidarity with the others, said she alerted 22 other sales girls at the computer gallery as soon as she saw the fire. -- PTI

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