PRAYAGRAJ, March 26 -- The cold storage operated by former UP minister Ansar Ahmed in Chandapur area in Phaphamau, was functioning without a valid licence and was not registered under the Factories Act, probe findings submitted to the Prayagraj district administration, read. According to the findings, authorities had previously issued a notice to the operator, but it was ignored, and the facility continued operations illegally. A court case had also been filed against the cold storage operator, which remains under consideration. The revelations come after a partial collapse of the building on March 23 afternoon, which killed four workers and injured 14 others. Following the incident, Manish Kumar Verma, district magistrate, formed an inquiry committee led by Vineeta Singh, additional district magistrate, finance & revenue. During the investigation, when documents were requested from other departments, the facility's illegal operation came to light, district officials said. According to a report submitted by Kamal Kumar Pandey, deputy director, (factories), to the ADM, his department had formed a five-member committee to investigate the matter after the incident. The panel included Sumit Kumar, deputy labour commissioner, Sanjay Lal, assistant labour commissioner, Navdeep Kumar Srivastava, assistant director of factories, (Varanasi region), and Sachin Dwivedi, labour enforcement officer. The report found that an inspection was conducted in October 2024 when 22 employees were present, including seven permanent staff and 15 contractual workers. The facility was found unfit for registration under the Factories Act and was also ineligible for registration as a shop or commercial establishment. On March 24, the five-member probe team inspected the cold storage, including the generator room and ammonia receiver vessels buried under debris. The vessels were intact, suggesting there was no ammonia leakage, the report noted. "The committee has not yet submitted its final report. Only after the probe report is received can a final deduction be made," said Manish Kumar Verma, DM-Prayagraj....