New Delhi, Sep 24 Delhi Police has told the Delhi High Court that six accused, including the owners of Satya Niketan building which collapsed, failed to take adequate safety precautions during construction or repair work creating a situation that endangered human lives and ultimately caused deaths.
The Delhi Police made the submission in its status report in which it also said that the building collapsed due to excessive structural load or weakening of the existing structure which endangered human life and resulted in casualties.
The building at Satya Niketan, which housed a boys’ paying-guest accommodation near the Delhi University’s South Campus, collapsed on September 6 while repair work was underway. Five students were among seven people who died in the collapse, while several others injured.
The status report was filed in pending PIL by law student Aniket Kumar Gupta, seeking urgent medical care and rehabilitation of affected students, Rs 1 crore compensation to kin of deceased and preservation of crucial evidence relating to the collapse.
The matter is listed for hearing on Friday before a bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia.
The police, in the eight-page status report filed on September 21, said that after the incident, the accused persons left the spot instead of taking responsibility and assisting in the immediate aftermath of the incident. Their conduct and individual roles are being examined during the course of investigation.
“Prima facie the six arrested accused persons failed to take adequate safety precautions during the construction/ repair/ modification/ alteration work carried out in and around the building, which resulted in a situation endangering human life and ultimately caused deaths and serious injuries to PG students and other persons,” the report said.
The police said during the preliminary inspection of spot, it was noticed that an old building had been subjected to additional construction in the basement and upper storeys, without obtaining permission from the concerned competent government authorities.
The construction or structural alteration allegedly increased the load on the existing structure and affected its load-bearing capacity, it said.
The police said the property was owned by accused Urmila Gupta and it was jointly managed by her, her husband Hari Ram Gupta and their son Mahesh Gupta, who both are accused in the case.
“It has further been found during investigation, that no land-use conversion permission had been obtained by the said persons. The premises were being commercially let out without obtaining the requisite permissions from the competent authorities.
“The owners had also not engaged, hired or obtained advice from any qualified structural engineer/architect in respect of the basement repair and the construction/structural modification work carried out at the ground-floor shops and other portions of the building,” the report said.
After the incident, a criminal case was registered by the police and six accused including Guptas were arrested in the case. The police also arrested Shubham Tyagi and Sudhanshu Lovenish Kumar who were running the PG accommodation for boys in the building under the name ‘Hostel Daze’.
Another accused Sanoj, who was engaged as a contractor to carry out the construction or repair work, has also been arrested.
The status report said contractor Sanoj engaged two unqualified labourers for carrying out the repair and neither him nor the owners obtained the opinion of any qualified architect/ structural expert before undertaking the same.
It said PG operators Shubham Tyagi and Sudhanshu Lovenish Kumar had taken the premises on rent without adequately verifying the building’s structural safety and design. It alleged that they failed to implement sufficient safety measures for the PG residents or take appropriate steps to warn and guide them about the potential risks arising from the ongoing construction and structural work.
On September 7, the high court ordered a high-level MCD inquiry into the building collapse and made it clear that the government cannot evade responsibility.
It said the incident was not only unfortunate but had evoked deep concern about inadequate housing facilities, including hostels run by Delhi University or the government, the safety and security of students and the not-so-adequate measures employed by the MCD and other authorities to regulate such PG facilities.
Retired IPS officer Kiran Bedi also approached the high court seeking to be made a party in the matter, saying she wanted to bring forth “critical public domain disclosures” and the “nexus” in the operation of PG hostels.
The authorities, however, opposed Bedi’s application saying she was pre-judging the matter and sought time to file objections.
(PTI News)
