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Who is Hariram Gupta, owner of Delhi PG that collapsed, killed 7; was on run before being held in Rajasthan
A neighbour of Hariram Gupta described him as a long-time resident and said he owned several properties and a hardware shop.
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Absconding Delhi PG owner Hariram Gupta was held in Rajasthan's Bhiwadi on Monday, a day after a decades-old multi-storey building collapsed in the Satya Niketan area, killing at least seven people and injuring several others.
Police had conducted raids across Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh as part of the hunt for Hariram.
Who is Hariram Gupta, the PG owner?
Deep Dive
Hariram Gupta as a resident of Gurugram in Haryana and one of his neighbours described him as a long-time resident and said he owned several properties and a hardware shop.
His “shop is in the market—our relationship is simply that we occasionally buy goods from his store; he has a decent personality. He has been living here for years. He owns several other houses here as well; his daughter and son also live nearby in Sector 23,” he said, according to news agency ANI.
"He owns a hardware shop. I have no idea about Delhi; I don't know if he owns a house in Satya Niketan or anything like that, but he does have four or five properties here."
How did police catch him?
Delhi Police had formed 10 separate teams to apprehend Hariram, the alleged owner of the building that collapsed in Satya Niketan.
The teams comprised personnel from the local district police, Special Staff and other operational units, with each team being led by an officer of Additional DCP rank.
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Rekha Gupta on building collapse
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta visited the site to assess the ongoing search and rescue operation following the building collapse.
Officials said 12 people have so far been pulled out of the debris, including seven who were killed in the incident.
In the wake of the collapse, Gupta directed authorities to seal all buildings in Delhi that have five floors.
"Strict action will be taken against MCD officials found responsible. Instructions have been issued to immediately seal buildings in Delhi having a fifth floor," she said in a statement.
Speaking to reporters, the chief minister said water had accumulated in the basement of the Satya Niketan building and contributed to its collapse.
"Approximately 80 per cent of the debris has been cleared, with only the basement debris remaining. Water had accumulated in the basement, and the combination of this with ongoing repair work on the old structure led to the collapse," she said.
