Rohtak, May 15 -- Taking suo motu cognisance of a fire incident on May 6 at a multi-storeyed hotel in Hisar, the Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC), chaired by justice Lalit Batra, took note of media reports describing how the blaze began in the basement kitchen before engulfing several floors.

Expressing serious concern over the state of fire safety preparedness and emergency rescue infrastructure in Haryana's urban areas, the commission directed officials to conduct a statewide fire safety audit.

In its May 7 order, the commission termed the incident as "deeply disturbing and alarming". The commission remarked that the fact a trapped woman had to jump from the building instead of being evacuated reflected serious shortcomings in r...