Working on ‘illegal’ structure, man electrocuted

An 11,000-KV power line runs roughly five feet above the terrace of the building where the incident took place. HUDA officials told Chandigarh Newsline that they had not authorised the construction till date and no permission was sought from them.
While police have said Bilal’s is a case of accidental death, HUDA officials Wednesday claimed they would visit the site Thursday to check whether an illegal construction was being raised.

As there was no complaint of any alleged negligence, proceedings were initiated under Section 174 CrPC,” the investigating officer of Sector 19 police post said.

HUDA officials claimed they were unaware of any such construction. “There is no site for a temple inside the complex, and if the residents want to build a temple, they have to seek permission from HUDA to make amendments in the site plan. No one has taken any permission. We will visit the site and take action accordingly,” said Vimaldeep, sub-divisional officer (SDO), HUDA.

Residents of Ashiana who had collected the money to build the temple expressed their helplessness over the issue. “Ab kya kar sakte hein? (What can we do now) We collected some money and gave it to his brother for the funeral. That is all we can do”, a resident said.
“Some residents and shopkeepers in Abheypur market collected money to build a temple as there is no place for worship. People collected money and purchased the construction material and donated it for the construction of temple. Hum to bass sewa kar rahe hein (We are only serving the society),” said Ramesh, another resident.

Ravikant Swami, ward councillor, said, “I have no information regarding the construction of a temple. No funds have been sanctioned from the Corporation. HUDA should check if there is any violation.”

OP Singh, Commissioner of Police (CP), Ambala-Panchkula, said, “If it is an unauthorised site, we can take suo motu cognizance of the incident and start a probe.”