Two builders arrested in Saket building collapse case

Police said the probe so far has found that the building had been constructed eight years ago and that its basement was not structurally capable of bearing the additional load of two more floors. “One extra floor had already been constructed, while work on another was underway. However, construction had reportedly been halted for several days due to a payment dispute when the building collapsed,” said a source.

A few days before the building collapsed, excavation work was carried out in its basement to install a water tank. The police suspect that this may have further weakened the structure.

The six dead included five medical and engineering graduates preparing for competitive exams and one woman who ran a makeshift eatery next to the building. The students were eating at her eatery when the building collapsed and the structure fell on the eatery, burying them under the debris.

A status report recently submitted to the Supreme Court slammed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for failing to act on time to stop the construction of the allegedly illegal building.

In his report to the top court, Senior Advocate Ajit Kumar Sinha, who is assisting as amicus curiae in a matter related to illegal constructions, said though the MCD was aware of the unauthorised construction, underway since 2015, “no concrete action was ever taken by the corporation”. It added: “The corporation failed to discharge its statutory obligations despite repeated notice of the violations, also failed to seal the premises and take consequential action(s) when fourth and fifth floors were being constructed recently.”