16 , February , 2022
PTI, GURUGRAM: Following aggressive protests by residents of an apartment building that collapsed partially last week, the police in Gurgaon have filed a case against its builder for culpable homicide, according to officials.
A senior officer confirmed on Tuesday that the charge has been added to the first FIR registered in connection with the February 10 incident at Bajghera police station.
After recording the statement of Rajesh Bhardwaj, the husband of Ekta Bhardwaj, who died after a portion of a tower at Chintels Paradiso collapsed, the Bajghera police added Section 304(2) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to the FIR, the officials said.
Earlier, the FIR was lodged under sections 304-A (causing death by negligence) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC.
However, soon after the apartment residents demanded that the builder be charged for murder and held protests to press their demand. On February 12, the police had filed another FIR against realty firm Chintels India and its construction contractors on a complaint by Gurugram district's Town and Country Planner R S Bath.
Two women were killed in the collapse. The dining room floor of a sixth-floor apartment came down first, triggering the collapse of roofs and floors directly under it, till the first floor, according to officials.
