Lucknow building collapse: FIR against owner, govt forms panel for probe

Police on Sunday booked the owner of the three-storey building here that collapsed a day ago, killing eight people, officials said.

Joint Commissioner of Police (JCP) Amit Verma said a police team is investigating the matter and the accused will be arrested soon.

A senior police official said an FIR has been lodged against Rakesh Singhal, the owner of the Harmilap building in the Transport Nagar area.

The building collapsed on Saturday evening triggering a major rescue operation. Eight people were killed in the incident while 28 others were injured.

Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government formed a three-member committee on Sunday to probe the building collapse incident.

The FIR against Singhpal was lodged at the Sarojini Nagar police station here on the complaint of MK Singh, the police outpost in-charge at Transport Nagar, the officials said.

The accused has been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including 115 (2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), and 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide).

According to the officials, the building had a motor workshop and warehouse on the ground floor, a medical godown on the first floor and a cutlery warehouse on the second floor.

The Uttar Pradesh government formed a three-member committee on Sunday to probe the building collapse incident here that claimed eight lives.

According to a press statement, the committee formed on the direction of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be headed by Sanjiv Gupta, a secretary in the home department, who has been made the panel's chairman.

Balkar Singh, Secretary of the Housing and Urban Planning Department, and Vijay Kanaujia, Chief Engineer (Central Region), Public Works Department, Lucknow, are the two other members of the committee.

"The inquiry committee is expected to investigate the cause of the incident and submit its report to the government as soon as possible," the statement read.

Eight people were killed and 28 others were injured when a three-storey building collapsed in the Transport Nagar area of Lucknow on Saturday evening.