Admn marks inquiry, seeks report in a week
Chandigarh, July 6 -- A day after the collapse of a two-storey building in Chandigarh Industrial Area, Phase 2, that left two men dead, the UT administration marked a magisterial inquiry on Sunday. Sub-divisional magistrate (east) Paviter Singh, who has been entrusted with the probe, will submit the report in a week, deputy commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav said. The administration will see if safety norms were being followed during the renovation.
Meanwhile, police didn't register an FIR as officials said neither the families of the deceased nor those of the injured labourers came up with any formal complaint. Police officials said they have initiated inquest proceedings at the Sector 31 police station. The incident near The Fern Residency hotel had left Tarun Kaushik (38) and Tarun Jain (35), who had taken the building on rent, dead and five labourers injured.
A preliminary investigation suggests the plot is owned by Prem Mittal, who had purchased it in 1980. He gave the building on rent to the deceased and two of their partners just 10 days ago. He had been giving the plot on rent for eight years. When the previous eight-year lease was about to end, he had issued an advertisement in newspapers, following which the deceased came in contact with him.
A police official, wishing not to be named, said no complaint was received from either of the two victims' families. The labourers, too, did not come up with any complaint. "Those who had got the plot on rent were themselves renovating the building. They have lost their lives. We will check if there was any violation of rules," the official said.
According to information, the victims were getting the glass of one of the windows removed when one of the supporting beams of the structure was disturbed, leading to the building collapse. A forensic team inspected the site. The nearby Fern Hotel, which had been cleared out for safety concerns on Saturday, was allowed to open on Sunday. SDM Paviter Singh too visited the spot.
Officials of the Punjab State and Chandigarh Human Rights Commission, who also visited the spot, said it was strange how a building can fall like this in a city like Chandigarh. "We will submit our report to the commission and the UT administration regarding our findings on negligence, if any. The commission will shortly issue suo moto notices to officials concerned," they added.
The building, which was over 50-year-old, collapsed around 4:30 pm on Saturday. There were eight people in the building at that time, of whom one was able to escape by himself, while five had to be rescued. The deceased were pulled out by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
When they were rescued, officials said that both appeared to be conscious, but Tarun Jain was pronounced dead in the ambulance while Tarun Kaushik was pronounced dead at the GMCH.
The families of the deceased, who were present at the Government Medical College Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, during the postmortem examination, refused to speak to mediapersons. Tarun Kaushik's relatives, including his wife and daughter, were present. Tarun Jain's cousin from Panchkula was also there. After the autopsy, they took the bodies away. The last rites of Kaushik and Jain will be performed at their native places - Solan (Himachal Pradesh) and Meerut (Uttar Pradesh), respectively. One of their relatives said they took the building on rent to set up a two-wheeler dealership.
The five labourers - Kuldeep, Kulbir, Umesh, Rahul and Ajeetesh - who were admitted to the GMCH have been discharged....
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