Three contractors have been arrested after an under-construction building collapsed in Delhi’s Chawri Bazar area, killing two labourers and injuring at least two others, with police and civic teams continuing rescue and debris-clearing operations around the site.
The three-storey structure in Gali Sitara, near Chawri Bazar Metro station, collapsed at around 9.45 am on Thursday while a roof slab was being laid, according to the police. Around 10 to 15 labourers were reportedly present at the construction site when the building came down.
The accused—identified as Siraj, Tajuddin and Furkan—were apprehended from Sirohi village in Faridabad. Police said all three are residents of the Ajmeri Gate area in Old Delhi. The arrests were made in connection with the collapse, and an FIR has been registered against the building owners and contractors under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
A joint rescue operation involved the Delhi Police, the National Disaster Response Force, the Delhi Fire Services and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. Rescue teams pulled four people from the debris. Two labourers, Kishori, 40, and Sanjeet, 45, died from their injuries, while Sahdev Chaudhary, 25, and Firoz, 37, were taken to hospital and were reported to be stable and out of danger.
Four other people had earlier been rescued by local residents. Rescue work continued on Friday, more than 24 hours after the collapse, as teams dealt with concerns over the stability of adjoining structures. Authorities restricted access to the area while personnel searched the debris and assessed the site.
The municipal corporation said the building was allegedly being constructed without the required approval on a 50-square-metre plot. An MCD official told the newspaper that no building plan had been sanctioned for the structure. Construction had reached the third floor before the collapse.
According to the MCD official, the material used at the site was non-engineered and had not set properly, a condition the official said eventually led to the collapse. The assessment has not been presented as a final finding, and the police investigation remains underway.
The case also highlights an earlier warning about the property. Delhi Police had flagged unauthorised construction there in June. In a communication dated June 15, the station house officer of Hauz Qazi police station informed the MCD’s City Sadar Paharganj Zone about the construction work and identified Furkan as the landowner and contractor.
The arrests and the FIR place responsibility for the construction under investigation, while the immediate administrative focus remains on completing rescue operations, securing neighbouring buildings and determining how work continued despite the police communication and the absence of an approved building plan. Further investigation is underway.
