Shivani Thakur
Published on: June 29, 2022, at 19:41 IST
The Director General of Police, the Director of Fire and Rescue Services, and a few other officials received notice from the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court in response to a petition asking the CBI to look into a case brought by the Kanniyakumari District Crime Branch (DCB) involving fake fire safety licenses.
The direction was issued on a petition filed by Sivaganga-native K Nagarajan, who is working as an Assistant District Officer in the Fire and Rescue Services Department in Nilgiris.
He claimed in his petition that district-level officials might grant fire permits for structures less than 18.3 metres tall.
“For buildings that are above that height cap, the license can be issued only by the Director of Fire and Rescue Services. The director generally deputes a multi-storey buildings inspection team, headed by a Deputy Director, to inspect the site and the license thus issued should be renewed annually,” Nagarajan explained.
However, he said that last year when a private hospital in Kanniyakumari requested a license renewal from the division, the officials discovered breaches and discovered that the hospital building’s initial licence was a forgery.
“The authorities then inspected other high-rise buildings and identified several forged licenses in use. Subsequently, they lodged a complaint with the Nagercoil Superintendent of Police. But except for the arrest of a head constable attached to the director’s office, no progress has been made in the case probe,” the petitioner claimed.