The roof was built barely 15 days ago, and the owner had not even applied for approval of the construction plan. On Thursday, the three-storey building in Old Delhi came crashing down, killing two people and injuring others.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has suspended an assistant engineer and a junior engineer following the collapse, with its initial findings showing that the building had never been booked for unauthorised construction.
The building in Gali Sheesh Mahal, near Chawri Bazaar, collapsed around 9:48 am while workers were removing the supports beneath its newly constructed third-floor roof. All the floors gave way, according to the civic body's preliminary report.
Four people were pulled out of the rubble. Two of them, Kishori, 40, and Sanjeet, 45, both residents of Mandawali, died of their injuries.
The other two, Sahdev Chaudhary, 25, and Firoz, 37, are stable and out of danger, police said.
A case under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, is being registered against the building owners and contractors, according to police.
The plot was small, measuring about 50 square metres. But the three-storey structure had come up without the owner or builder filing any application for approval of the building plan, the civic body said.
The MCD also said it had received no complaint about the construction before the collapse. The property had not been booked for unauthorised construction either.
The civic body has now suspended the two engineers pending an inquiry into possible negligence or failure to perform their duties.
The exact cause of the collapse is yet to be established. Officials are examining the circumstances in which the building gave way during the removal of temporary roof supports.
Teams from Delhi Police, the National Disaster Response Force, Delhi Fire Services and the MCD were called in after the collapse.
Getting heavy machinery to the spot was a challenge. The building stood in a lane barely three to four feet wide, with adjoining structures on three sides. Residents of neighbouring buildings were moved out as a precaution.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and the Mayor visited the site. The Chief Minister ordered an inquiry and action against those found responsible.
The tragedy comes two months after seven people were killed when a building housing a paying guest accommodation collapsed in Delhi's Satya Niketan. That incident had prompted inspections and action against civic officials over unsafe and unauthorised buildings.
The MCD said further action would be taken based on the findings of the inquiry.
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