Noida Building Collapse: Owner Arrested Over Death of 2 Workers

The owner of an under-construction building in Noida was arrested on Saturday, a day after two people were killed after a portion of the structure collapsed.

Five workers were rescued from the debris after the front portion of the three-storey building located in F Block of Sector 11 collapsed on them around 7.30 pm on Friday. Two of them, a contractor and a plumber, died during treatment, while the rest are still hospitalised, the police said.

“Raj Kumar Bharadwaj, around 65 years of age, has been arrested in connection with the case. Bhardwaj is the owner of the building which houses private firm Shakti Techno Fab Products, the district police said in a statement.

An FIR has been lodged at the Sector 24 police station and Bharadwaj booked under Indian Penal Code sections 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) among others, it said.

Further proceedings in the case are underway, the police said.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had taken note of the incident on Friday evening and directed Police Commissioner Alok Singh to reach the spot to ensure rescue and relief work.

Large number of police personnel along with fire department officials, the National Disaster Response Force and ambulances had reached the spot and started a rescue operation.

Teams of Noida Authority and the district administration also inspected the site. The exact cause of the collapse was yet to be ascertained, officials said.

Prima facie, some solar panel installation work on the ground floor of the building may have caused the collapse, the officials added.