Two women were killed and 13 people were injured after a shed collapsed at Rampur Kalan village on Patiala-Zirakpur road in Zirakpur on Tuesday. The condition of one of the injured persons was said to be serious. Deputy Commissioner Isha Kalia marked an inquiry into the incident. The land where the warehouse was being constructed belongs to the brother of Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Patiala legislator Ajitpal Singh Kohli. However, the land was given on lease to some other person who was constructing the warehouse. According to the police, those who died were identified as Radha (40) and Abu (35), both residents of Rajasthan. They both worked as labourers at the warehouse. The condition of one of the injured labourers, identified as Kulbir Singh, is said to be serious. The injured were admitted to various hospitals, including Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, Chandigarh. The incident happened around 11:30 am when the labourers started working to make a shed for the warehouse. The entire shed which was to be fitted on the iron rods collapsed. At the time of the incident, around 80 labourers were working at the site. “The shed collapsed and 15 labourers were buried under it. They were taken out after a struggle of around two hours. The injured were taken to Dera Bassi Civil Hospital. The serious patients were referred to GMCH, Sector 32,” a police officer investigating the case, said. The Zirakpur Station House Officer (SHO), Inspector Onkar Brar, said that the police shall proceed further after recording statements of family members of the deceased. When asked whether an FIR was registered regarding the case, the SHO said that they were inquiring following which further investigation would be carried out. The DC marked an inquiry into the incident and directed Dera Bassi Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Swati Tiwana to submit a report on the incident. The preliminary investigation found that the warehouse was being made to store the tyres and the land belongs to Ajitpal Singh Kohli’s brother Gurjeet Pal Singh Kohli. Speaking to The Indian Express, Gurjeetpal Singh Kohli said that he had given the land on lease to a Haryana-based businessman and he was not aware of the business or construction of the shed. “Yes, the land belongs to me but I have nothing to do with the construction of the shed, for the past six months a Haryana based person had taken this land on lease,” he added. He further said that the local police had called him following which he had explained his position to him.
