2nd FIR lodged in sequential fall of flat roofs in Gurugram high rise

PTI, Feb 14, 2022, 8:12 AM IST

Image credit: ANI

Gurugram: The Gurugram police on Sunday lodged a second FIR in the incident involving the partial collapse of a high-rise building here, booking all managing directors of the realty firm Chintel India and its group and associate companies, besides several others, an official said.

The incident involving the sequential collapse of flat roofs from the sixth to ground floor in the 18-storied tower of the Chintel Paradiso Housing Complex in sector 109 of Gurugram on Thursday had led to the killing of two women living in two lower floor flats died and critical injuries to a man. The accused who were named in the FIR included firm’s MD Ashok Solomon besides Ajay Sahni, Kunwar Khaliqe Ahmad, Arvind Kumar Gupta, and Asish Jaiswal, all heading various group and associate companies of the firm, the official said.

The firms’ whose MDs were booked included Chintels India ltd, Chintel Export Pvt Ltd, Intels India Pvt Ltd, Rajkiran Pvt Ltd, and Bhayana Builders, besides various architects, structural engineers, and contractors involved in designing and building the high-rise, the official added.

The second FIR was lodged on the complaint of Gurugram district’s Town and Country Planner R S Bath, who made his recommendation to rope in more people as accused in the case following a preliminary inquiry conducted by him.

”The mishap proved that the work of the structural engineer, proof consultant, and the contractor was not creditworthy and rather fraudulent. As per various rules and building bylaws, the licensee structure engineer and contractor are solely responsible for this unfortunate incident. There has been a violation of various provisions,” Bath’s complaint to the police, recommending the registration of a second FIR, read.

The FIR was registered at the Bajghera police station under IPC sections for cheating (420 & 417), forgery (465), forgery for cheating (467), using forged document (471), and criminal conspiracy (120 B) besides section 10 of the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975 fro various building bylaws violation.

Gurugram Commissioner of Police KK Rao said the FIR was registered as per the recommendation of the relevant authority and police would conduct a thorough probe into the matter.

The building residents, however, expressed dissatisfaction over the registration of the second FIR and demanded inclusion of the IPC section 302 for murder against the Chintel group executives and government officials, involved in giving clearances and occupation certificates for the project.

In a meeting held on Sunday, representatives of 50 group housing societies demanded structural audits of all societies in New Gurgaon by IIT Delhi. Out of the two women who died in the Thursday mishap, the body of the second woman, Sunita Shrivastava, was retrieved by rescuers from under the debris on Saturday night, more than 60 hours after the incident.

Sunita Shrivastava’s husband A K Shrivastava, an IRS officer and managing director of Central Warehousing Corporation, suffered critical injuries and could be rescued from under the debris on Friday following 16 hours of efforts.

The body of the first woman Rekha Bhardwaj was retrieved shortly after the incident.