Gurgaon collapse toll rises to 2, Chintels MD booked

The deceased was identified as Ekta Bhardwaj, 40, who was staying on the second floor of Tower D.

Roof of 6th floor apartment in Gurugram society collapses, rescue operations underway

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“Three people were reported to be trapped under the debris. One woman’s body was recovered from the second floor around 11 pm on Thursday. On the first floor, a couple were reported to be stuck. Arun Srivastava, who is a bureaucrat posted with Indian Railway Service of Engineers, was rescued at 11 am today after a 16-hour operation. The lower part of his body was stuck in the debris,” said Nishant Kumar Yadav, deputy commissioner, Gurgaon.

“Information about the collapse was received on Thursday at 6 pm, and the rescue operation was initiated around 6.30 pm. Preliminary information was that in the 18-storey tower D, the top 12 floors were intact and the dining area – between pillars – from sixth to first floor had collapsed,” said the DC.

The Chintels MD, Ashok Solomon, was meanwhile booked on Friday after the husband of the woman who died on Thursday filed a police complaint. Solomon has been booked under IPC sections 304-A (causing death by negligence) and 34 (common intention).

Residents of the tower D of Chintel Paradiso society spent the night in the premises of the society. They were provided mattress and food.

In the complaint, Rajesh Bhardwaj, alleged that the incident took place due to negligent and substandard construction work done by the builder and contractor.

“On Thursday evening, I received a call from my son informing me that the ceiling of some floors of the tower had collapsed and, in the incident, my wife suffered injuries and passed away around 7 pm,” wrote Rajesh in the complaint. “There could be more fatalities and injuries to other flat residents of D tower,” he said, adding that necessary legal action should be taken against the accused.

Rajeev Kumar, ACP, Udyog Vihar, confirmed that an FIR had been registered.

In a statement issued Thursday night, the firm had said: “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.”

With other residents also complaining of negligence on the builder’s part, the deputy commissioner said an enquiry committee headed by additional district magistrate had been formed, and it would submit its report in a week to fix accountability.

Spread over 12 acres, the society has nine towers. A total of 450 flats out of 532 are occupied.