Video Editor: Ashutosh Bharadwaj
A five-storey under-construction building collapsed in the Akash Nagar area of the Masuri police station limits in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad on Sunday, 22 July, killing two people and injuring at least eight others. After two days of searching, officials on 24 July affirmed that the rescue operations are over.
Director General of Police OP Singh in a statement identified one of the deceased as Rahul.
The construction workers on the site blamed the builder for the tragic incident that claimed two lives.
The labourers told ANI that they had been working despite a crack in one of the columns.
There was a crack in the flats on the ground floor. They (builder) asked us to repair it and not tell anyone. We had our lunch at 2 pm and got back to work at 2:30 pm. After that, we couldn’t work, and the building collapsed. We all got trapped under it. Prem Pal (the builder) asked us to work or we wouldn’t be paid.Rajkumar, Construction Worker
Rita Maheshwari, Ghaziabad District Magistrate said that the police was trying to trace the land owner and the builder.
“An FIR will be registered and they will be booked under the National Security Act. Stringent action will be taken against officers responsible for the illegal construction...The government will give Rs 2 lakh as ex-gratia to the family of the victim and Rs 50,000 each to the injured,” said Rita Maheshwari, Ghaziabad District Magistrate.
The Ghaziabad Police tweeted that some labourers were rescued and sent to a hospital for treatment.
Taking cognisance of the incident, UP CM Yogi Adityanath has ordered an enquiry into the matter and has ordered the district authorities to take strict action against those found guilty.
Local MP and Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh reached the spot and took stock of the rescue operation.
Four Held in Connection with the Collapse
Speaking to PTI, superintendent of police (SSP) Vaibhav Krishna said that an FIR was lodged against the errant builders Kishan Pal Tomar and Mukesh Singh along with Dinesh Kumar, the owner of the land on which the illegal construction was going on.
To probe the incident, a special investigating team (SIT) has been formed and legal action will be initiated against the culprits. The government officers who were hand in gloves with the builders and land owner will also face prosecution. They will be nabbed soon.SSP Vaibhav Krishna
The incident comes days after a six-storey under-construction building collapsed on another five-storey building in Greater Noida.
The collapse in Shahberi village had claimed nine lives, including that of a toddler and two women.
(With inputs from PTI)
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