New Delhi   

Building owner sent to 14-day judicial custody

NEW DELHI: Amritpal Singh, owner of the five-storey building that collapsed claiming 70 lives at Lalita Park in East Delhi this past week, was produced in a city court that sent him to 14-day judicial custody on Sunday. The Crime Branch that has been investigating the case had taken his two-day remand for questioning.

During interrogation, Amritpal purportedly disclosed that he bought the property in 1990 following which he got three storeys and a basement constructed. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ashok Chand said the accused, as per his disclosure, added another floor in 1997 and then in 2005, he got halls converted into several rooms to rent them out. It is alleged that he also got a toilet room made and a water tank constructed on the terrace.

Investigations will solely focus on gathering evidence of the alleged culpability of Amritpal in causing deaths of his tenants. The police have forwarded a request for roping in experts to ascertain if there were flaws in the building structure and whether substandard material was used in the construction. Amritpal had earlier been accused of supplying adulterated cement.

Also, the impact of the water tank on the foundation of the building will be calculated apart from the foundation's tensile strength.

It is learnt that the police have approached the Indian Institute of Technology experts seeking assistance in carrying out technical analysis. Samples of the building's rubble have also been sent for laboratory tests to find out the composition and ratio of the materials used in the construction.

During interrogation, the accused disclosed that he had rented out the ground floor to a tent house, but the tenant had recently moved all his belongings out of the building due to water logging in the basement.

According to the police, Amritpal has a long criminal past.

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