The body of a 40-year-old man was recovered from the debris in Hauz Qazi on Saturday morning.
The death toll in the collapse of a three-storey building in Old Delhi's Hauz Qazi rose to three on Saturday, according to reports by Hindustan Times, Business Standard and The Hindu. Rescuers recovered the body of 40-year-old Pankaj Sharma, a resident of Hanuman Nagar village in Bihar’s Khagaria district, from the debris in the early hours of the day.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Rohit Rajbir Singh said that five people have been pulled from the rubble so far, including three dead and two injured. The injured workers, identified as Sahdev Chaudhary, 25, and Firoz, 37, are stable after receiving medical treatment.
The building, located in Gali Sitara near Chawri Bazar Metro station, collapsed on Thursday morning while construction was underway. An official from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) stated that the structure had reached the third floor and collapsed while a roof slab was being laid using non-engineered material that had not set properly.
Police have arrested three contractors, identified as Siraj, Tajuddin and Furkan, from Sirohi village in Faridabad. According to the first information report (FIR), the contractors allegedly ignored warnings from workers regarding the poor quality of materials and the structural stability of the building.
The FIR invokes several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 105 for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Earlier, the Hauz Qazi police station had alerted the MCD in June regarding unauthorised construction at the property.
Rescue operations are continuing at the site. Chief minister Rekha Gupta has ordered a detailed inquiry into the collapse and the immediate suspension of the concerned junior engineer and assistant engineer.
