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Lucknow Fire Investigation: Questions Raised Over Building Disaster

Tuesday, June 23, 2026
5 min read
Lucknow Fire Investigation: Questions Raised Over Building Disaster

That fire in Lucknow, the one that ripped through that three-storey building in Aliganj on Monday it’s still raising serious questions. Fifteen people died, nine got hurt.

The initial gut feeling, according to Minister A. K. Sharma from UP, is that the whole disaster started way up in the air-conditioning duct. Preliminary findings point right there. Thick smoke just spread fast through the structure. And the real kicker? There wasn't a proper emergency exit at all. Just one staircase serving everyone. That kind of setup makes things incredibly bad when panic hits. People were trapped, suffocating inside.

The building itself housed an animation training institute and a pet shop. It just sounds like a terrible mix of commercial space and residential life gone horribly wrong.

Eyewitness accounts paint a terrifying picture of what happened next. Some people tried to jump out, desperate for air. Others scrambled down using overhead wires, trying to get away from the flames. You could see people smashing windows trying to break through the smoke just to find an exit. It was chaos. Pure desperation in those moments.

Rescue teams finally got in there later. They had to go around, accessing a neighboring building's terrace. They drilled holes through walls to pull people out. Even while the fire was raging fiercely, they managed to get some of them clear.

But the story goes deeper than just the flames and the escape routes. Investigators found that this building wasn’t even supposed to be what it was. It had been approved for residential use, but apparently, since 2014, it was operating as a commercial spot. That kind of setup ignoring the rules that really complicates things when disaster strikes.

There was talk about demolition orders back in 2016 because of unauthorized construction. But that order got pulled back within two months. It just shows how shaky everything was before Monday.

And on top of all that, authorities found out there was only one staircase. That single route became the entire nightmare. Plus, some automatic gate system apparently made things worse when everyone panicked and rushed toward that single exit.

The Rameshwaram Group runs the property. Three people linked to that group Virendra Shukla, Dhirendra Shukla, and Surendra Pratap Shukla they were arrested Monday. It’s a lot of pieces you have to sort out after something like this. Building codes, safety violations, and personal accountability. All tangled up in smoke.

Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board

Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.

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