Noida wall collapse case: Illegally-run school was shut 6 months ago, reopened with new name

Police are also going to ask the education department to explain why school was allowed to function without requisite clearances.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has asked the district administration of Gautam Budh Nagar to file a detailed report of the wall collapse incident, which took place at the premises of an illegally-run school in Salarpur village in Noida’s Sector 102.

Two children were killed after the boundary wall of a private school in Noida’s Salarpur village collapsed on Monday December 17, 2018. (Sunil Ghosh / HT Photo)

Two students of the New KM Public School were killed in the incident on Monday, while three more were severely injured.

Police have lodged an FIR in the matter against six persons. They were waiting for the education department and parents of the deceased children to lodge separate FIRs in the matter.

“Two more FIRS are expected in the matter — from the education department and the parents of the deceased children. The Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) will also take action against one of the accused who had kept sand and construction material on the plot adjacent to the school, without covering it,” Shwetabh Pandey, circle officer 3, said.

Police are also going to ask the education department to explain why school was allowed to function without requisite clearances. “The school was closed around six months ago by the education department for want of approval. But, it again started functioning under a different name. We have asked the education department to submit their report on the issue,” BN Singh, district magistrate, said.

Police have launched a manhunt to nab the accused, including the owners, management and staff of the school. Police detained Sanjeev Jha, principal of the school, on Monday around 9.30pm from his residence.

The UP pollution control board officials also visited the site to identify the total area on which construction work was going on and the other violations at the site.

“Our officials have visited the site. We will be sending our recommendation to the city magistrate to impose fine on the person who was undertaking the construction work without following the norms prescribed by the National Green Tribunal,” Anil Singh, regional officer, UPPCB, said.

The UPPCB will impose a fine of ₹20,000 on Deshraj, one of the main accused in the case.

He was carrying out construction in the plot next to the school and had kept sand and other building material near the wall, which collapsed under the weight of the material on Monday morning.

Police,too, said that prima facie investigation has revealed that the wall had collapsed under the weight of the construction material. The total area of the under-construction site was around 3000 sqft and the construction material was lying uncovered.

Recently, the district administration had started taking strict action against those found flouting National Green Tribunal norms.

The district magistrate had complained to the chief judicial magistrate against two government agencies for causing pollution in the district.

The district magistrate, using his power as per Section 19 of the Environment (Protection) Act,

1986, had initiated the prosecution of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL-W) and NBCC (India) Limited, as well as their contractors, under sections 15, 16 and 17 of the Act.