Meerut DM, police chief transferred over fire tragedy

Lucknow, Apr 12 (UNI) Uttar Pradesh government today transferred Meerut DM, SSP, SP (City) and ADM (City) in the wake of the tragic fire at the Trade Fair in Victoria Park, which claimed over sixty lives on Monday.

''People of Meerut are anguished and keeping their feelings in view, the transfers are being effected,'' Principal Secretary (Home) Satish Kumar Aggarwal told reporters here this evening.

Mukesh Meshram, hitherto the DM of Mau, has been posted as the new District Magistrate of Meerut while Navneet Sikera, attached with the state DGP office, would be the new District Police Chief replacing Rajiv Sabbarwal. Mr Sabbarwal has been sent as Commandant to 41st Battallion of PAC in Ghaziabad.

The SP (City) of Meerut S S Yadav has been sent as Deputy Commandant, 15th battallion PAC in Agra. He would be replaced in Meerut by Uday Shankar Jaiswal, the Additional SP at Police Headquarter, Allahabad.

The state government also transferred Additional District Magistrate (City) Sushil Dubey and posted Mr Manvendra Singh, the ADM in Bareilly, as the new ADM (City) of Meerut.

State Director General of Police (DGP) Bua Singh, also present on the occasion, described the situation in Meerut as ''returning to normal'' after resentment among the people over poor response of the district administration following the fire tragedy.

Nine students were arrested in connection with attacking and ransacking the DM ofice this morning, he said.

Categorically denying that bulldozers were run at the venue to crush the dead bodies, both the senior officers said it was done to sift through the debris to search for the dead bodies. The debris was still lying there, they added.

UNI SB ARS YA BST2025