Police have arrested three people, including a junior engineer and a supervisor after 24 people were killed and 17 others were injured when the roof of a crematorium in Uttar Pradesh’s Muradnagar collapsed on Sunday.
The incident occurred when several people had taken shelter under the recently constructed structure as it rained. The dead, all of them men, were mostly relatives or neighbours of Jai Ram, who was being cremated at that time, officials said.
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Police have registered an FIR against Junior Engineer Chandrapal, supervisor Ashish, EO Niharika Singh, contractor Ajay Tyagi and others. The FIR has been registered under Sections 304, 337, 338, 427 and 409 at the Muradnagar Police Station.
The local people were the first to arrive at the cremation ground in Muradnagar’s Ukhlarsi village in Ghaziabad district, adjoining the national capital.
President Ram Nath Kovind tweeted and expressed grief over the loss of lives.
मुरादनगर, गाजियाबाद स्थित श्मशान में छत गिरने की घटना अत्यन्त दुखद है I मृतकों के परिवार जन को मेरी शोक संवेदनाएं !
मैं प्रार्थना करता हूं कि इस दुर्घटना में आहत लोग शीघ्र स्वस्थ हों I स्थानीय प्रशासन राहत और सहायता हेतु कार्यरत है I— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) January 3, 2021
PM Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the deaths. “I express my condolences to the near and dear ones of those who lost their lives in this accident, and also hope for a quick recovery of the injured,” Modi tweeted in Hindi.
उत्तर प्रदेश के मुरादनगर में हुए दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण हादसे की खबर से अत्यंत दुख पहुंचा है। राज्य सरकार राहत और बचाव कार्य में तत्परता से जुटी है। इस दुर्घटना में जान गंवाने वालों के परिजनों के प्रति संवेदना प्रकट करता हूं, साथ ही घायलों के शीघ्र स्वस्थ होने की कामना करता हूं।
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 3, 2021
ग़ाज़ियाबाद के मुरादनगर में श्मशान घाट की छत गिर जाने के कारण कई लोगों की मृत्यु के समाचार से मुझे अत्यंत दुख पहुंचा है। दुख की इस घड़ी में मैं मृतकों के परिजनों के प्रति अपनी संवेदना व्यक्त करता हूं, साथ ही कामना करता हूं कि हादसे में घायल हुए लोग जल्द से जल्द स्वस्थ हों।
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) January 3, 2021
Adityanath announced Rs 2 lakh as financial relief for the families of the victims. He also directed Meerut’s Divisional Commissioner and Additional Director General of the police zone to submit a report on the incident.