Shahberi effect: Another builder arrested

A private builder allegedly involved in constructing and and selling flats illegally in Greater Noida's Shahberi, where two adjoining buildings had collapsed in 2018 killing nine people, was arrested on Wednesday, said police.

Usman Mohammad Qureshi, a native of Jamia Nagar in Delhi, was picked up from his residence in Sector 75 Noida, the police said.

"Qureshi had developed flats and sold them to buyers without telling them that the land on which the flats were built is a notified property of the Greater Noida Authority. There were no mandatory approval of maps or necessary clearance to construct the building structure, said Bisrakh police station's SHO Manoj Kumar Pathak.

"The registry of flats were also done keeping the buyers in dark about the owner ship of the land and in violation of the law," he added.

Qureshi has been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 288 (danger to human life by construction of a building), 420 (fraud) and 467, 468, 471 (all related to forgery), the police said.

The police said it had initiated proceedings against Qureshi on similar charges in 2018 also but he had got a stay on his arrest then from the Allahabad High Court.

On July 17, 2018, two adjoining buildings in Shahberi village had collapsed, leaving nine people, including a child and two women, dead.

Two builders, including Shahabuddin, who had constructed the buildings which had collapsed, and Jasvir Maan, who illegally developed and sold maximum flats in the area, have already been arrested and booked under the stringent National Security Act (NSA).

Probe reports by the administration and local authorities found that the buildings had come up illegally and without any proper approval, as did several others which mushroomed over the years in Shahberi, less than 50 km from Delhi.

So far, around 86 FIRs have been registered over illegal constructions in Shahberi and action taken against 42 builders under Gangsters Act, a senior official said.

Notably, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had in July directed officials to ensure tough action against rogue builders and erring government officials.