NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Tuesday rejected allegations that mobile phone jammers had been deployed at the Satya Niketan building collapse rescue site, terming the claims “completely false” and asserting that mobile networks were fully operational during the rescue operation.The clarification came after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that a mobile phone jammer had been installed at the site to prevent trapped students and local residents from communicating with people outside and to conceal the actual number of casualties.According to news agency PTI, the Delhi Police said personnel of the Delhi Police, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and fire department were coordinating seamlessly through mobile phones without any disruption. The police also pointed out that media personnel and citizens at the site were broadcasting live without any disruption to mobile connectivity.In a post on X, the Delhi Police said: “Rumours of mobile jammers at the Satya Niketan rescue site are completely FALSE.”The allegations had been raised by AAP’s Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj, who questioned how people trapped under the rubble could call for help if mobile signals had been jammed.Speaking to news agency ANI on Tuesday, Bharadwaj said, “How would someone trapped in a cavity of debris call for help when mobile signals have been jammed? Who ordered the installation of mobile jammers at Satya Niketan PG students’ building? Why did NDRF take 2-3 hours to reach in the middle of Delhi? Why were government ambulances two hours late? Will Delhi University students take up this matter?”Bhardwaj alleged that the administration’s first action after the collapse was to jam mobile signals, preventing local residents from calling ambulances or seeking help and stopping those trapped under the rubble from contacting anyone.“It is often seen in incidents such as building collapses that people trapped under the rubble call their relatives, share their location and seek help. But the shocking aspect of the Satya Niketan accident is that the administration’s first action was to jam mobile signals. Jammers were installed there, due to which neither local residents could call an ambulance or seek help, nor could anyone trapped under the rubble contact anyone,” he alleged, according to ANI.He also alleged delays in the arrival of emergency services, saying, “The administration’s ambulance arrived two hours after the incident, while the first ambulance to reach the site was a private Blinkit ambulance. Relief and rescue operations also began with a delay of around two to two-and-a-half hours, while the NDRF team arrived three hours late.”Responding to the Delhi Police’s categorical denial, Bharadwaj told ANI, “Delhi Police is lying. I was there, along with hundreds of people. Let the Delhi Police officials come, and let the commissioner and Rekha Gupta come with us to Satya Niketan. Phones were not working there after the incident. Without following due process, the connection at a disaster site was illegally jammed.”“In such accidents, people can sometimes survive inside the rubble and make phone calls from within to seek help and rescue. But the BJP government closed off that avenue too by installing a jammer. It was done only so that the children trapped under the rubble could not call people they knew and so that the outside world would not find out how many people were actually trapped. This is such a cruel government. Today, people hate the Delhi Police,” he added.The controversy follows the collapse on Sunday of a multi-storey building housing a boys’ paying guest facility at Satya Niketan, in which seven people were killed.Meanwhile, Supreme Court-appointed amicus curiae Ajit Kumar Sinha has urged the Supreme Court to extend its building-inspection exercise to paying guest accommodations, private hostels and student accommodations across Delhi following the Satya Niketan collapse, ANI reported.His report noted that Satya Niketan had witnessed a similar collapse in April 2022, in which two people were killed, and said the recurrence raised concerns over inspection and enforcement mechanisms. Construction work and waterlogging were reported in the basement before the latest collapse.The amicus has sought a time-bound safety audit covering sanctioned plans, unauthorised floors, basement alterations, structural and fire safety, and dangerous conditions. The Supreme Court had earlier ordered inspections in Lajpat Nagar, Saket and Malviya Nagar, but not Satya Niketan.Delhi Police have registered an FIR alleging that the building’s owners, Hari Bansal and his brother, added four floors for rental income despite load-bearing concerns, with fresh construction underway at the time of the collapse.(With agency inputs)
