LUCKNOW: In a tragic incident, four contractual employees working as electrician were found dead in a glass cabin in the basement of a hotel in Vibhuti Khand police station area at 7am on Saturday. They were allegedly suffocated to death due to carbon monoxide poisoning as they had kept burning coal in the glass cabin to beat the cold.District magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma gave Rs 50,000 compensation to the kin of deceased from discretionary fund and asked assistant labour commissioner to conduct an inquiry.The deceased have been identified as Mohamed Saeed (29) of Gomtinagar, Mohammed Nihal (30) of Indiranagar, Ram Kumar (30) of Ghazipur and Ram Naresh (32) of Vikasnagar, said police.Police said that the hotel's watchman-cum-peon Shailendra went to the basement and found the victims sleeping. He called them many times and then opened the cabin door to wake them up.Shailendra grew suspicious when they did not respond and informed hotel manager Dilip who went to the basement and found them lying unconscious. Dilip rushed them to RML Hospital where doctors declared them brought dead. Dilip then informed the hotel owner and victims' families.Families and neighbours of the victims reached the hospital and staged a protest holding the hotel owner and administration responsible for the deaths. The hospital administration called the police fearing violence.SP North Anurag Vats reached the hospital along with police force and was joined by officials from district administration and labour department. Giving details, SO Vibhutikhand, Satendra Rai, said that Mohamed Saeed, Ram Naresh and Ram Kumar were sleeping in the glass cabin after finishing their day's work."In a CCTV camera footage, Mohamed Nihal was seen moving towards the basement to sleep, carrying a stove with burning coals," he said.Police said that prima facie it seems that the victims died of carbon dioxide poisoning as burning coal was kept in the cabin. "Fresh air could not enter the glass cabin which was closed and the victims died as carbon dioxide collected inside," police said.The bodies were sent for autopsy and further investigations are under way.SP (north) Anurag Vats said that a case of murder and destroying evidence was registered. DM Kaushal Raj Sharma said that the labour department served a notice to hotel owner to give Rs 35 lakh as compensation to the families of the deceased. "The contractual employees were on duty when they died. So, the hotel owner has to give compensation," said Sharma.

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