Owner of building that collapsed and killed 7 in Delhi's Satya Niketan detained in Rajasthan
PTC News Desk: In a significant breakthrough, owner of the building that collapsed in Delhi's Satya Niketan, killing 7 and critically injuring several others, has been detained after extensive manhunt.
Earlier in the day, Delhi Police had issued a lookout circular (LOC) against Gupta and obtained his passport details as part of efforts to trace him.
Following the lookout notice (LOC), police teams were deployed to find Hariram. Around three to four teams conducted raids at several suspected locations where he might be hiding.
Police also visited Sector 23, where Hariram’s shop, Hariram Paints and Hardware, has remained closed for the past two days. Local residents said Hariram had been running the shop for nearly 15 years and was considered one of the well-known hardware traders in the area.
Neighbours also claimed that the Gupta family owns several houses in Sector 23 and Palam Vihar.
The decades-old five-storey building, which housed the boys’ PG accommodation known as Hostel Daze, collapsed on Sunday while repair work was reportedly underway. The incident turned the student neighbourhood into the scene of a deadly tragedy.
The building, located near Delhi University’s South Campus, housed a boys’ paying guest (PG) accommodation. It collapsed around 1.30 pm on Sunday while repair work was reportedly underway.
So far, 11 people have been rescued, while rescue teams continued searching for others who may still be trapped. Ten injured people were taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre.
A senior MCD official said the building stood on a 55-square-yard plot in a resettlement colony. It was a ground-plus-four (G 4) structure, even though permission had originally been given only for a ground-plus-one (G 1) building.
MCD officials suspended
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) suspended five officials from its South Zone. The officials, suspended with immediate effect pending disciplinary proceedings, include South Zone Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Kumar, Superintending Engineer, Executive Engineer (Building), Assistant Engineer (Building), and Junior Engineer (Building).
The action follows persistent rescue operation at the collapsed building site in Satya Niketan with several, largely student, feared to be still trapped under the rubble.
- PTC NEWS
