Building in Sector 13 collapses, no casualty

A one-storey building near the dividing road of Sanjay Gram colony and Rajiv Nagar in Sector 13 collapsed Thursday night, police said, adding that no one was injured. Officials from the Bhim Nagar fire station said they received a call regarding the incident around 10.45 pm.

Police said the construction of an illegal basement in an adjacent plot is likely to have caused the building collapse. Maintaining that the incident took place around 9.15pm, police said the owners of the showroom had closed the shutters 10 minutes prior and were standing on the road leading to it at the time.

As a precautionary measure, police evacuated 20 people from two four-storey buildings adjacent to the collapsed building.

Rajkumar Sharma, owner of the showroom ‘Dreams Night Wear’, filed a police complaint at Sector 14 police station. In the complaint, Sharma said, “For the last few days, an illegal basement was being dug up in the plot next to our basement, regarding which we had been complaining to people at the site. On April 9, we had raised objection to the construction, following which we were threatened by the people completing the construction. The building collapse has caused a lot of loss. The owners of the illegal basement should be booked.”

SI Shailender, Sector 14 police station, said no persons were injured.

“A woman had just locked the showroom and exited the place when the building suddenly collapsed. Some girders had been put in an illegal basement that was being constructed in an adjacent plot. We are conducting the probe,” he said.