MOHALI: The collapse of the lintel in the under-construction three-storey showroom in Sector 118 on Monday, which resulted in the death of a labourer and injured three others, was due to the inadequate load-bearing capacity of the scaffolding and shuttering, according to a preliminary inspection.
Mohali police have arrested the contractor for culpable homicide, and a judicial probe has been assigned to SDM Mohali.
The rescue operation, conducted by the police and firefighters, involved extracting four labourers from the debris. They were transported to Mohali Civil Hospital, where one was pronounced dead on arrival.
This is the second incident of a building collapse in a month in Mohali, the earlier one being in Sohana.
Sources in the Mohali administration said that the scaffolding and shuttering erected to support the lintel during the concreting of the slab must be according to the weight of the combination of concrete and tor. If the shuttering pillars are not strong enough to hold the weight of the slab, they may cave in.
The contractor, Jasvir Singh, was booked under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with culpable homicide that does not amount to murder. The contractor has been arrested, confirmed SP (rural) Manpreet Singh.
Viraj Shyamkaran Tidke, additional deputy commissioner (ADC), holding additional charge of deputy commissioner (DC), said a judicial probe has been assigned to SDM Mohali, and she has been directed to submit the report within two weeks.
Notably, the judicial probe report of the Sohana building collapse is also awaited. The incident occurred on Dec 21, and the probe report was sought within three weeks. The probe was assigned to SDM Mohali.
Victims’ compensation proceedings initiated
Mohali administration has initiated the proceedings to compensate the victim’s death. Mohali ADC, holding additional charge of DC, Viraj Shyamkaran Tidke, said that the file for the release of compensation for the victim has already been moved, and once the approval is received, the compensation will be awarded.
The ADC also said that the compensation for Kumbran murder case has already been awarded to the victims. Both victims, Damanpreet Singh (17) and 16-year-old Dilpreet, were murdered in Nov 2024.
Sohana building collapse victims not entitled to compensation
Sources in Mohali administration said that as both the victims of the Sohana building collapse are residents of another state, there is no provision to give compensation from the Punjab state. The two victims of the Sohana building collapse, Drishti Verma, a 29-year-old maiden from Theog, near Shimla, and Abhishek of Ambala, died in a multi-storey building collapse in Sohana.
A senior administrative officer, requesting anonymity, said that as the two victims are from other states, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, they cannot be compensated by the Punjab govt. He said that there is no such policy to do so.
