Police arrest Saket building owner, hunt on for builder & contractor

Abhay

New Delhi: Police on Monday arrested 70-year-old Karamveer, the owner of the multi-storey commercial building in south Delhi’s Saidulajab that collapsed on Saturday evening, killing six people.

He was nabbed from his Vasant Kunj residence. Karamveer is a rental property businessman in the area and has multiple holdings in Saidulajab and other areas of Delhi, police said.

Karamveer has reportedly told investigators that construction to add floors to the structure had started about three months ago. He blamed the builder and contractor, saying he was promised by them that all precautions and permissions would be taken, police sources said.

DCP (south) Anant Mittal formed six teams led by SHO (Mehrauli) Ritesh Sharma to catch the suspects. The teams used technical surveillance and a local information network to trace the owner, but the builder, Manish Khatri, and contractor Siraj have fled. Police have launched a hunt for them. Teams are conducting raids across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the NCR region.

Investigators are also probing whether the building was constructed on encroached land about 20 years ago. They will look for the sanctioned building plan and other records to determine what structural modifications were made over the years. Police will also take the statements of those working in co-working spaces and agencies that were operating out of that building, as well as labourers employed at the site.

An official involved in the rescue said he had learnt that drilling was being done on the ground floor to install a water tank. Investigators are expected to examine if the activity had any impact on the building’s structural stability.

A senior police officer said forensic experts have visited the site and collected samples from the debris. The report is expected to provide information on what caused the collapse.

The building was reportedly designed for four floors, but two additional floors were later constructed. Investigators will need to determine whether the original structure was capable of supporting the extra load or if the additions had compromised the building’s structural integrity, a rescuer said.

“When a building is constructed, its pillars and structural framework are designed to bear a specific load. However, in many cases, additional floors are added without adequately reinforcing the structure,” he added.

Police are also investigating whether the weight of additional structures may have caused the building’s main pillars to crack, leading to the collapse.