Delhi PG Collapse: Court Remands Building Owner's Son, Others To Two Days Police Custody
In relation to the Satya Niketan PG collapse case, a Delhi Court on Wednesday remanded building owner's son Mahesh Gupta and two others to two days of police custody.
The order has been passed by Judicial Magistrate First Class Kautuk Bhardwaj of Patiala House Courts.
The other two men remanded to police custody are PG operator Sudhanshu and building contractor Sanoj.
The Delhi Police had sought three days of police custody of all three accused.
To be noted, on September 07, the building owner Hariram Gupta and his wife Urmila were remanded to judicial custody in the case. Mahesh was remanded to two days of police custody which expired today.
A five-storeyed PG or hostel building collapsed on September 06 in city's Satya Niketan area. The collapse has reportedly resulted in multiple deaths and injuries to students.
Later, the owner of the building, Hariram, was arrested by the Delhi Police in Bhiwadi in Rajasthan. His son Mahesh and wife Urmila were also arrested in the case.
As per Delhi Police, the electricity connection was in Hariram's name. It has been alleged that Mahesh was handling the management work and the property, on paper, was in the name of Hariram's wife, Urmila.
The building, which housed a boys' paying guest accommodation near Delhi University's South Campus, collapsed around 1.30 pm while repair work was underway at its basement. Locals alleged the basement was waterlogged that could have weakened the structure.
The Delhi Police has registered a case against the three at the South Campus Police Station. They have been booked on charges including culpable homicide, negligence in the upkeep of a structure and endangering the safety of others.
In a related development, the Delhi High Court has asked the authorities to double their efforts to save the lives of students affected by the collapse.
It has directed the MCD to take up the issue at its highest executive level and get an enquiry conducted as to whether the buildings which collapsed were constructed under valid permission or not.
The High Court has also said that if it is found that the construction was not done under valid permission, MCD shall fix responsibility of the erring official or employees for the lapse.
A PIL is also filed before the High Court, in wake of the incident, seeking hostel facilities in all the colleges of the Delhi University.