Building collapse: Probe ordered,rains hit debris clearance

“The rains have affected the pace. More than that,we are not going that quick in breaking the slabs because they support the adjoining buildings. If we go fast,it may result in damage to other buildings,” R C Sharma,Director of Delhi Fire Services,said.

He said the debris removal operations were nearing its end. “Till the last rubble is removed,we cannot say that there is no one trapped there. We have to see whether there is anyone trapped inside the basement.”

Amid growing public outrage over the incident,Delhi Government appointed a one-member judicial commission to probe the incident.

Officials said Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit decided to appoint the judicial inquiry “in view of the scale of the mishap,large number of casualties and number of complex issues connected with the incident.”

Dikshit expressed confidence that the inquiry would be able to throw light on the causes of the incidence and also help in preventing the recurrence of such incidents in future.

The inquiry,to be conducted by former Delhi High Court judge Justice Lokeshwar Prashad,will probe all aspects of the incident including whether there was any procedural,administrative and statutory lapses that led to the tragedy.

Government has asked Justice Prashad to file his report within three months. The Delhi Government had already appointed a magisterial probe which was asked to submit its report within 10 days.

The MCD has,meanwhile,asked the occupants of as many as 38 “dangerous” buildings in the East Delhi area to evacuate immediately after a survey it conducted in the area following directions from Delhi Government.

“During a survey,basements of at least 38 buildings were found to be water-filled. We have issued them notice to vacate their houses immediately for their safety,” Municipal Corporation of Delhi spokesperson Deep Mathur said.

Anxious relatives continued to pour into the hospital and huddled in front of the list of survivors,scanning to find some familiar names.

Photographs of unidentified bodies were displayed in hospitals for relatives to identify them. Heart-rending scenes were witnessed at hospitals where relatives poured to identify the victims.

Over 60 families,mostly labourers from West Bengal,were living in the cramped quarters of the 15-year-old building,where an illegal fifth floor was under construction.

Rescue workers from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF),fire department,police,civil defence and locals were working together to remove tons of concrete from the spot and find trapped people.

Meanwhile,a Delhi court remanded building owner Amritpal Singh,who was arrested yesterday,in two days police custody saying custodial interrogation of the accused was necessary for the recovery of the ownership documents of the building.

Delhi Police described him as a “seasoned criminal” and a “history sheeter”,who has at least 25 cases registered against him in the past 34 years.

An attempt to murder case,11 cases of adulteration and four cases of cheating are among the 25 cases registered against Singh.

“It came to notice that the accused is a seasoned criminal and has past history of criminal involvements including adulterating building material and cement. He has more than 25 criminal cases against him,” I B Rani,Additional DCP (East),said.

Soon after the collapse on Monday night,Singh had fled from his house in Lalita Park area with his family and was hiding at his sister-in-law’s residence in Geeta Colony.

Singh claimed that he had followed all rules in its construction and had not bribed anyone.

“I have not bribed anyone. I told all ministers personally about the details of the building. All of them know about it. Reports that I bribed officials to get a no objection certificate are completely false,” he claimed.