Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on Monday said that the accused in the roof collapse incident at a crematorium in Ghaziabad will be charged under the stringent National Security Act, reported the Hindustan Times. The chief minister also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of the deceased, according to ANI.
On Sunday, the roof of a crematorium in Muradnagar area of Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district collpased, killing at least 24 people taking shelter under it, to protect themselves from rains. The police on Monday arrested the main accused Ajay Tyagi, who was given the contract for construction of the crematorium, and three municipal officials. The police had also registered a first information report against the four accused.
However in a meeting with officials on Monday, Adityanath said that the accused will be charged under the NSA. “Such incidents will not be tolerated in future,” he said, according to the Hindustan Times. “Strict action will be taken against the guilty under National Security Act and seizure of property.”
He also directed to blacklist Tyagi and said that the loss incurred due to the incident will have to be compensated by the contractor and engineer involved in the construction, reported News18.
The chief minister has directed the divisional commissioner and additional director general of police of Meerut division to launch an inquiry into the incident and submit a report, based on which the accountability of divisional and district officials will be ascertained. Construction in the crematorium had started two months ago and was completed at an estimated cost of Rs 55 crore. Following this, it was opened for the public only around 15 days ago, PTI reported, quoting officials.
Meanwhile, the main accused Tyagi will be produced in a Ghaziabad court on Tuesday, according to News18. On Monday, the other three accused Muradnagar Nagar Palika Executive Officer Niharika Singh, Junior Engineer Chandra Pal and Supervisor Ashish were sent to judicial custody for 14 days.
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