Mohammad Anwar Arrested After New Seemapuri Building Collapse Kills Four
Mohammad Anwar, the owner of the five-storey building that collapsed in east Delhi’s New Seemapuri, was arrested on Saturday after going into hiding following the disaster last Wednesday, people aware of the matter told Hindustan Times. The structural failure in the congested neighborhood killed four people, including Anwar’s three-year-old grandson and his daughter, Nusrat. Police initially registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’s sections 105 for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and 110 for attempt to commit culpable homicide against unknown persons.
Demolition Work and Weak Foundation Trigger Collapse
A preliminary probe indicates that demolition work in an adjacent building, which utilized vibrating machines over the preceding three to four days, may have triggered the collapse. According to local reports, Anwar was adding rooms to the top floor of his building to rent them out despite the structure standing on a weak foundation measuring just 25 square yards. He had added four upper floors on top of the original ground-floor structure over two decades ago.
🚨 **Five-Storey Building Collapses in Seemapuri, Delhi; 5 Deaths Reported!**A five-storey building collapsed in the New Seemapuri area of Delhi, triggering panic and chaos. Reports indicate that at least 5 people have died, while more than 11 people have reportedly been… pic.twitter.com/AW20sayIH1
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi confirmed that the building was at least 20 to 25 years old and located in a jhuggi-jhopadi cluster under the jurisdiction of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board. At the time of the collapse, Anwar was away from the premises, but his wife, son, and three-year-old grandson were among the eight individuals injured. His daughter, son-in-law, and grandson had moved into the building just a month prior while their primary residence, located roughly 300 meters away, underwent reconstruction.
The tragedy prompted a 28-hour search and rescue operation in the narrow lanes of New Seemapuri. Authorities confirmed four fatalities: a young child, 56-year-old Hazra Bibi, 33-year-old Nusrat, and 21-year-old Gulafsa, who was four months pregnant. Investigators are currently awaiting forensic findings and conducting DNA examinations on five body parts recovered from the debris to determine whether they belong to already identified victims or others.
Ongoing Magisterial Inquiry and Structural Safety Concerns
A magisterial inquiry is underway to establish the precise circumstances leading to the collapse, which highlights ongoing enforcement failures regarding private demolition and construction rules in the capital. Global Incident Tracker noted the incident as a moderate-severity structural failure, underlining the dangers posed by unauthorized extra floors and heavy vibration near substandard concrete structures. Police continue to investigate the extent of liability tied to the ongoing construction work supervised by Anwar in the adjacent property.
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