Lucknow building collapse: Two women killed, SP MLA’s builder son arrested

“The debris is being removed, and we are searching each and every flat… A total of seven families lived in the apartment complex. As per our information, 17 people were in the building when it collapsed on Tuesday evening. If anyone else is stuck, we will find out after the debris is removed,” Lucknow Police Commissioner SB Shiradkar said.

“Two women have died, which we regret. As per our information, no one is trapped there. There was information that one person was trapped, but it was found to be false after NDRF teams searched the place,” he added.

The deceased have been identified as Samajwadi Party national spokesperson Abbas Haider’s mother Begum Haider (72), and wife Uzma Abbas (30). Uzma was a former journalist. Her six-year-old son is undergoing treatment at a city hospital.

Accusing the administration of laxity, Haider said: “If you want to see drama in the name of rescue, you can see it here. All television channels were praising Yogi Adityanath and the administration. The NDRF and SDRF personnel were taking photographs, and very few were involved in the rescue operation. I asked them to drill at a place, but they didn’t. My family members died of suffocation. The administration has committed murder. First, they get an illegal building constructed and then, people die.”

Shiradkar rejected Haider’s charge, saying, “Senior officials, NDRF, SDRF, fire brigades and PAC units were present at the spot. The rescue operations continued the whole night.”

Meanwhile, police registered an FIR against three owners of the building and arrested one of them — Nawazish Shahid, son of SP MLA and ex-minister Shahid Manzoor. The two others named in the FIR are Manzoor’s nephew Mohammad Tariq and builder Fahad Yazdani. “Shahid was arrested from Meerut and has been brought to Lucknow. He has been sent to judicial custody. The search for the other two is on. Five teams have been formed to nab them,” said a senior police officer.