Gurugram building collapse: Death toll rises to 2; construction company's MD booked
Gurugram (PTI): Another body was pulled out on Friday from under the rubble of a partially collapsed apartment building here, taking the toll to two, officials said.
Police have booked the builder of Chintels Paradiso, a residential complex, and the construction contractor for negligence, while the district administration has ordered an inquiry into the matter, they said.
Residents staged a protest over the Thursday night incident, while the gates of the housing complex have been sealed by police.
While Ekta Bhardwaj (31) died last night, the body of Sunita Srivastava was recovered on Friday, officials said, adding that operations by rescue personnel at the incident site are still on.
Sunita Srivastava's husband, Arun Kumar Srivastava, who was trapped under the building's debris, has been hospitalised, they said.
The builder and the construction contractor have been booked on a complaint lodged by Ekta Bhardwaj's husband Rajesh Bharadwaj, the officials said.
Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav said, "A special inquiry team has been constituted and it will look into the allegations of negligence. Rescue operations are underway."
The officials said the dining room floor of a sixth-floor apartment at Chintels Paradiso housing complex in sector 109 first came down, triggering the collapse of roofs and floors directly under it, till the first floor.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are carrying out rescue works. Earth-moving machines and a fire brigade vehicle with an elevated platform have deployed.
Rajesh Bharadwaj, a resident of Block-D of the complex, in his complaint, said, "I got a call from my son Yatharth Bhardwaj that the ceiling of some floors of our tower have collapsed. In the incident my wife suffered injuries. She passed away around 7 pm."
He said that after he came from office, he saw that the ceiling of the sixth and seventh floors had collapsed. Rescue and police teams were working on the spot and after removal of debris my wife's body was recovered and taken to hospital, Rajesh Bharadwaj said.
"This incident has happened due to negligence and substandard construction work done by MD (managing director) of Chintels group Ashok Saloman and contractor of construction. There could be more fatalities and injuries to other flat resident of D-tower kindly take necessary legal action against the accused," he said in his complaint.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Deepak Saharan said, "FIR has been registered and probe is on. Action will be taken as per the law".
The builder and construction contractor have been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 304A (causing death by negligence) and 34 (common intention) at the Bajghera police station.
Deputy Commissioner Yadav had told reporters on Thursday that construction work was underway on the sixth floor when the floor collapsed.
He said third to sixth floors of the building were vacant and people were living on the first and second floors.
Local residents have said Tower D, part of which collapsed, was built in 2018. The complex has three other towers. The 18-floor Tower D has four-bedroom apartments.
The housing complex management has blamed the disaster on "negligence" during repairs for the "extremely unfortunate incident".
"Upon preliminary investigations, we have come to know that some negligence in repair work done by the contractor in an apartment led to this incident," it said, offering condolences to the "affected families".
The management said it is cooperating fully with the authorities.
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UDF leaders see local body poll trends as pointer to 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Buoyed by the strong performance of the Congress-led UDF in the local body polls, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said on Saturday that the front's results indicated the people had rejected the LDF government.
According to early trends, the UDF was leading in more grama panchayats, block panchayats, municipalities and corporations than the LDF.
The local body polls were held in two phases in the state earlier this week.
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Speaking to reporters here, Joseph said the people of Kerala had extended their support to the UDF.
"We could expose the LDF government’s anti-people stance and the people understood it. The LDF’s fake propaganda was rejected by the people. The UDF is moving towards a historic victory," he said.
He said a united effort, proper preparations, good candidate selection and hard work had resulted in the Congress and the UDF’s victory in the elections.
Asked about the prospects in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Joseph said the party was studying the matter and would comment later.
LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said the results would be closely examined.
According to him, the government had done everything possible for the people.
"Why such a verdict happened will be examined at the micro level. People’s opinion will be considered and further steps will be taken," he said.
He added that decisions would be taken after analysing the results. "If any corrective measures are required, we will initiate them and move forward," he said.
AICC leader K C Venugopal said the results showed that people had begun ousting those who, he alleged, were responsible for the loss of gold at Lord Ayyappa’s temple.
"This trend will continue in the Assembly elections as well. It is an indication that the people are ready to bring down the LDF government," he said.
Venugopal said the UDF had registered victories even in CPI(M) and LDF strongholds.
"I congratulate all UDF workers for their hard work. Congress workers and leaders worked unitedly," he said.
Referring to remarks made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against the Congress on polling day, Venugopal said the voters had responded through the verdict.
"I do not know whether the chief minister understands that the people are against him. Otherwise, he does not know the sentiment of the people. The state government cannot move an inch further," he said.
He said the results indicated a strong comeback for the UDF in Kerala.
Asked whether the Sabarimala gold loss issue had affected the LDF in the local polls, Venugopal said the CM and the CPI(M) state secretary did not take the issue seriously.
"We took a strong stand on the matter. The BJP played a foul game in it," he alleged.
On the BJP's role in the local body elections, Venugopal alleged that the party operated with the CPI(M) 's tacit support.
"The CPI(M) supported the central government on issues such as PM-SHRI, labour codes and corruption in national highway construction. The CPI(M) is facing ideological decline, and the state government’s policies are against the party’s own decisions," he said.
Meanwhile, LDF ally Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani said the party could not win all the wards it had expected in the elections.
He congratulated winners from all parties and said the party would closely examine the losses and identify shortcomings. "Later, we will take corrective measures," he added.
Senior Congress leader and MP Rajmohan Unnithan said the trends in the local body elections indicated that the UDF would return to power in the 2026 Assembly elections.
"We will win 111 seats as in 1977 and return to power in 2026. The anti-government sentiment of the people is reflected in the elections," he said.
Unnithan said the people were disturbed and unhappy with the present government.
"The trend indicates the end of the LDF government," he added.
CPI(M) MLA M M Mani said the people had shown ingratitude towards the LDF despite benefiting from welfare schemes.
"After receiving all welfare schemes and living comfortably, people voted against us due to some temporary sentiments. Is that not ingratitude," he asked.
Mani said no such welfare initiatives had taken place in Kerala earlier.
"People are receiving pensions and have enough to eat. Even after getting all this, they voted against us. This is what can be called ingratitude," he said.
Muslim League state president Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said the results were beyond expectations.
"The outcome points towards the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, indicating that a change of government is imminent. We are going to win the Assembly election," he said.
