The owner of the building that collapsed in Delhi's Satya Niketan, claiming the lives of seven people, was apprehended from Rajasthan's Bhiwadi area on Monday, the Delhi Police said. The police are interrogating Hariram Gupta in custody.
"Hariram Gupta has been apprehended from Bhiwadi. Further examination is ongoing in connection with the case," an officer said.
Earlier, the Delhi Police had issued a lookout notice against Hariram. The notice was issued as efforts continue to trace those allegedly responsible for the incident.
The police booked Hariram and others on charges of culpable homicide, negligence in upkeep of a structure, and endangering safety of others, at the South Campus Police Station.
The collapsed structure, built on around 55 square yards, was a G+4 building in a resettlement colony where the erstwhile permission was only for a G+1 unit and no building plan was approved, according to MCD officials.
Seven people killed
The decades-old five-storey building housed a boys' paying guest accommodation near Delhi University's South Campus. The building collapsed around 1.30 pm on Sunday while repair work was underway.
A total of 12 people have been rescued from the site of the Satya Niketan building collapse, while seven people have died, Delhi Police said on Monday.
Meanwhile, rescue operations continue at the site of the incident. Multiple agencies, including the Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Service, National Disaster Response Force and Delhi Disaster Management Authority, have been carrying out rescue.
The collapse has already triggered administrative action, with Delhi CM Rekha Gupta announcing a new policy mandating structural audits for all buildings used for public purposes, including PGs.
Five MCD officials suspended
Earlier, five MCD officials have been suspended in connection with the incident. According to an official release, the suspended officials include personnel from different levels of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), including a Deputy Commissioner, Executive Engineer, Superintending Engineer, Assistant Engineer and Junior Engineer. The action comes amid growing questions over construction and safety violations surrounding the collapsed building.
The five officials facing suspension are: Rakesh Kumar (Deputy Commissioner, South Zone), Ranveer Singh (Superintending Engineer, South Zone), Lalit Kumar Goyal (Executive Engineer, South Zone),
Sunil Chauhan (Assistant Engineer, South Zone) and Ashish Kumar (Junior Engineer).
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