NEW DELHI: Illegal construction of additional floors, use of substandard material and disregard for building safety norms led to the collapse of a five-storey building in south Delhi’s Said-ul-Ajaib that killed six people — the Delhi Police has stated in its nearly 300-page chargesheet close to three months after the May 30 incident.Supplementary chargesheets will be filed to examine alleged negligence of civic authorities, police saidThe accused, building owner Karamvir Singh, and builders Manish Khatri and Avinash Gupta, carried out construction in blatant violation of building norms, the chargesheet said.
Illegal floors constructed
Poor-quality construction material knowingly used, says chargesheet
According to the chargesheet, filed before Saket court on Aug 13, the three accused have been charged under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 290 (negligent conduct during construction of a building), 125(a) and 125(b) (causing hurt and grievous hurt by rash or negligent acts endangering human life), and Section 3(5) (common intention) of BNS.Investigators have alleged that no building plan was ever sanctioned for the structure and that no mandatory construction norms were followed during its development.The investigation further found that two additional floors were illegally added to the building. Police said that before constructing extra floors, it is mandatory to obtain a structural stability assessment from qualified experts to determine whether the existing structure can safely bear the additional load.However, no such structural test or certification was obtained in this case.
What happened
A police probe had revealed that builders Manish and Avinash were verbally contracted to construct two large halls for around Rs 1.8 crore and began work in Jan.During this time no architect was engaged for the project and the accused were instructed to connect new pillars to the existing weak structure despite the absence of structural approvals.The chargesheet also states that poor-quality construction material was knowingly used throughout the building. Investigators have stated that the accused were fully aware that the material being used was substandard and that the construction violated safety requirements.A senior police officer said the investigation into the case is still under way and supplementary chargesheets will be filed.
