Sukhmani Singh’s cremation took place at Baikunth Dham in Alambagh. Jyoti, Neelesh, and another victim were cremated at Bhainsa Kund Ghat, while Anuchha Rai was cremated at Pipraghat in Lucknow.
Published: June 24, 2026, 7:30 AM IST
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Lucknow Fire Major Update
Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government has launched a special drive to strengthen the regulation of coaching institutes operating across the state and against coaching centres running illegally. The chief minister has stated that a fire safety audit will be done in mission mode throughout the state, and any building should be used for the purpose for which it is approved. Operating a coaching center, nursing home, or other commercial activity in the basement is not acceptable under any circumstances.
As per reports, all district magistrates have been directed to conduct a comprehensive survey of all coaching institutes operating in their respective districts and prepare a list. The inspection includes building arrangements, fire safety, electrical safety and other necessary facilities. Regular inspections are also being carried out in registered institutions to review student safety, basic facilities and administrative arrangements.
Fire Department seeks to distance itself
Officials in the Fire Services Department tried to distance themselves from the responsibility for the tragedy after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) began probing Monday’s devastating fire. It is important to note that the government has already indicated that it holds the three departments accountable for lapses. The government has also suspended a fire service officer (FSO), an executive engineer of the Electricity Department and two LDA engineers within hours of the incident.
Among the three departments, the Fire Services Department is expected to face the toughest scrutiny as the tragedy involved a major fire. According to The Indian Express report, a senior Fire Department official, when contacted, said the building did not exist in the department’s records and therefore the Fire Services had no knowledge that commercial activities were being carried out there.
The official claimed that the building owners had never approached either the local fire station or the Chief Fire Officer’s (CFO) office for a fire No Objection Certificate (NOC) during the past 13 years. According to him, the current owners, who were arrested on Monday, purchased the property in 2013 as a residential building and failed to obtain approval for converting its land use to commercial purposes.
Final rites of the victims held:
The last rites for nine out of the 15 individuals who lost their lives in a massive fire in the Aliganj area of Lucknow were conducted on Tuesday. Sukhmani Singh’s cremation took place at Baikunth Dham in Alambagh. Jyoti, Neelesh, and another victim were cremated at Bhainsa Kund Ghat, while Anuchha Rai was cremated at Pipraghat in Lucknow.
Aditya, a victim of the fire incident, was cremated at a local cremation ground in Sitapur. Shahjan was buried at a local graveyard in Barabanki. The last rites for Sanyam and Surajbhan were performed in Kanpur on the same day. Lucknow Mayor Sushma Kharakwal, after returning from Dehradun, informed PTI that eight of the 15 deceased were from Lucknow. She added that information about the other victims was still being gathered.
Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak visited the families of the deceased at various cremation sites in Lucknow to offer his condolences and pay tribute to the departed souls. Prabhjot Singh, the father of Sukhmani Singh, shared with PTI that his son had called him, pleading, “Papa, please save me, there is a fire,” before the call ended abruptly. He expressed his despair, stating that they continued to try reaching him but received no response. He mentioned that there were 16 children trapped, and they saw four or five jump from the building.
Shatruhan, Neelesh’s father, disclosed that his family had already chosen a future daughter-in-law for him. Still, Neelesh wanted to wait until 2027 to marry, hoping to become self-sufficient first. Aditya’s mother, visibly emotional, lamented, “How will we live without him?” His grief-stricken father was in such a state of shock that he was unable to light the funeral pyre of his son, and the last rites had to be performed by Aditya’s paternal uncle in Sitapur.
Aditya was one of four siblings in the family. His family mentioned that he studied and also taught at an animation training centre. Aditya’s sister, Nishtha, explained that their relative, Bhavan Srivastava, was also present in the building when the fire broke out. He saved himself by jumping out of the window and urged Aditya to jump too, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
According to Nishtha, Aditya called around 2.30 pm, but she could not receive the call. His body was recovered around 5 pm. The family alleged that if the fire and rescue team had arrived in time, Aditya’s life might have been saved.
Aditya worked as a 3D character artist, and on the morning of the accident, he left the house in a very happy state. His mother, Kalpana Srivastava, became emotional, stating that no amount of monetary compensation could bring her son back.
She also mentioned that if the rescue work had started earlier, perhaps her son would still be alive today.As news of Aditya’s death spread, a large number of people, including Biswan BJP MLA Nirmal Verma, Seuta MLA Gyan Tiwari, former MLA Mahendra Singh Yadav, and other public representatives, turned out on Tuesday to console the grieving family.
