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Delhi Police Rely on Injured Student to Build Case Against PG Operators
Developing
In Short: In the wake of a five-storey PG building collapse in South West Delhi, police are relying on a student who was among the survivors to build charges against the property's operators.
According to reports, one of the students injured in the collapse of the Satya Niketan PG building is now a key witness for the Delhi Police. The student, Nitish Chib, is providing crucial information to frame charges against the property's operators, Sudhanshu Lovneesh and Subham Tyagi.
In his statement to the police, Chib alleged that construction work in the basement had been ongoing for 10-12 days. He and other students had complained to Lovneesh and Tyagi about the noise and the cutting of iron rods on the ground floor, a source in the police said.
Sources further revealed that the police will use Chib's statement, along with lease papers and other evidence, to prove that Hostel Days was not merely a passive operator but was actively promoting the construction and threatening anyone who warned the operators about it. Earlier, police sources had mentioned that a plumber had warned Lovneesh hours before the collapse that the building's wall could give way due to the construction.
Despite Tyagi's earlier claim that he only contributed financially to the PG operation, police have found that the building was leased to both him and Lovneesh last year. According to the police, the owner had permission to construct only the first and second floors of the building, but three additional floors were later added. Lovneesh was the main person prospective tenants met when they came looking for rooms, police have said.
When the structure collapsed on Sunday, killing seven people, including five of Chib's fellow tenants, he was among those rescued. Lovneesh was arrested on Wednesday, while Tyagi reached the police station and surrendered on Friday. He was produced in court and sent to two-day police custody.
What's still developing
- Nothing material beyond the confirmed record.
Sources
- The Indian Expresslink