CHANDIGARH: Haryana Police has registered a case against Chintel Builders on charges of causing death by negligence and common intention, a day after a portion of the sixth floor of a building collapsed, resulting in the death of two women. An inquiry has also been ordered.
A portion of the floor in Tower D of the Chintels Paradiso housing society in Gurugram Sector 109 collapsed to the first floor. Four people have gone missing. Two were rescued and two women found dead. The police have sealed the society's gate. The police have booked Ashok Solomon, managing director of Chintels Builders, for causing death by negligence and common intention.
One of the deceased has been identified as Ekta Bharadwaj (31). A complaint to the police was filed by her husband Rajesh Bhardwaj, who was at his workplace when the incident took place. "I want to bring to your attention that on February 10, I got a call from my son Yatharth Bhardwaj that the ceiling of some floors of our tower had collapsed and fallen," Bharadwaj's complaint read.
"My wife Ekta Bhardwaj suffered injuries and passed away at around 7 pm. This incident has happened due to negligent and substandard construction work done by the MD of Chintels Group Ashok Soloman and the contractor. There could be more fatalities and injuries to other residents. Kindly take necessary legal action against the above mentioned," the complaint added.
The builders expressed regret. "This is an extremely unfortunate incident and we have taken it very seriously as the safety of our residents is our utmost concern. We are fully cooperating with the authorities and ensuring all support. We extend our heartfelt condolence to the affected families," they said in a statement.
Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav has ordered an inquiry. "A special inquiry team has been constituted. It will look into the allegations of negligence, as rescue operations are underway," Yadav said.
Rescue operations, which started on Thursday evening, continued till Friday. The National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, civil defence volunteers and fire department teams were involved in the operation.
A couple was found trapped under the debris. Arun Srivastava, who is an Indian Railways engineer, was rescued. He suffered leg injuries and was hospitalised. His wife Sunita were was the other victim. They were living in the first floor.