Saket building collapse: Delhi court sends owner to three-day police custody

A Delhi court on Tuesday sent the owner of a multi-storey building, which collapsed in south Delhi’s Saket area, killing six people, to three days’ police custody.

Judicial Magistrate First Class Nirmala Singh was hearing the Delhi Police plea seeking five days of custody of the 71-year-old building owner, Karambir Sejwal. She granted three days’ custody of the accused for further investigation into the incident.

Seeking custody, the police told the court that Sejwal was the owner of the building and custodial interrogation was required to verify ownership records and trace other accused persons who were absconding.

The investigating officer told the court that a previous builder had also allegedly carried out illegal construction at the site and that Sejwal knew his identity. The police said they wanted to track down the builder and ascertain the circumstances that led to the collapse.

“He’s the owner of the building... we need to see the ownership record. Apart from him, other accused are absconding.

“The previous builder also did illegal construction. The owner knows his name... we want to track him down,” the police said in the court.

Opposing the plea, Sejwal’s counsel Rajiv Mohan argued that the case was registered under Section 105 of the BNS, dealing with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and contended that no evidence had yet emerged against his client.

The building collapsed on May 30, triggering a massive rescue operation that continued for several hours.

According to the police, the structure housed a coaching institute, cafes and offices while construction work was underway on its uppermost floor at the time of the collapse.

Six people were killed and eight others injured in the incident. The police arrested Sejwal on Monday as part of the investigation and are probing whether structural violations or unauthorised construction contributed to the collapse.

Meanwhile, for students living in the Saidulajab area of the Capital, Saturday’s multi-storey building collapse has left behind lingering fears about safety with worried parents and relatives checking on them constantly and urging them to move elsewhere.

The area in Saket is a bubbling students’ hub filled with paying guests, hostels and student rental homes along with cafes and canteens. The building, which came crashing down on Saturday, housed a coaching institute, cafes and offices, and construction work was underway on its uppermost floor at the time of the collapse.

“Three days have passed since the collapse, but my family’s fear has not gone. I stay in the adjacent lane and I still remember the sound of the structure coming down,” said Ankit Kumar, a 26-year-old medical aspirant.