Contractor arrested in Ghaziabad crematorium roof collapse incident
What's the story
The contractor wanted in connection with a crematorium roof collapse incident that claimed 24 lives and injured 17 in Muradnagar, Uttar Pradesh, was arrested from a village near the border of Meerut and Muzaffarnagar, police said on Tuesday.
The incident occurred at a cremation ground when people were taking shelter from the rain.
Reportedly, the roof collapsed due to heavy rainfall.
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National Security Act to be invoked against accused
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday directed that the National Security Act be slapped against the accused.
He also announced that financial assistance of Rs. 10 lakh will be provided to each of the kin of the deceased, and homeless affected families will be provided a home.
Earlier, the CM had also directed relevant authorities to submit a report regarding the incident.
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Here is the statement issued by the UP Government
In a statement issued here, the UP Government said, "Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed that the National Security Act be slapped against the accused persons. He also directed that loss of public money during the construction work be recovered from the contractor and engineers."
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Ghaziabad Police arrested officials involved in the tendering process
On Monday, Ghaziabad Police arrested Muradnagar Nagar Palika Executive Officer Niharika Singh, Junior Engineer Chandra Pal, and Supervisor Ashish as they were involved in the tendering process for the structure.
They were sent to 14-day judicial custody.
Contractor Ajay Tyagi, who had gone into hiding, was nabbed near the Ganga canal bridge of Sathedi village by a joint team of Muradnagar and Niwari Police.
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Probe underway to examine how much substandard material was used
A tender of Rs. 55 lakh was awarded to Tyagi for the renovation and construction of the shelter three months ago, and it was opened to the public 15 days back.
The SP said a probe was underway to examine how much substandard material was used in the construction.
After the investigation, corruption charges would be added.