New Delhi: Delhi Police has told Delhi High Court that the six accused, including the owners of the Satya Niketan building that collapsed earlier this year, failed to take adequate safety precautions during construction and repair work, creating conditions that endangered human life and resulted in deaths and injuries.In a status report filed before the court, police said the building collapsed due to excessive structural load or weakening of the existing structure, leading to casualties.The matter is scheduled to be heard Friday by a bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia.“The six accused failed to take adequate safety precautions during construction and repair work, endangering lives and causing deaths and serious injuries,” the report stated.Police also told the court that the accused left the spot after the collapse instead of assisting in the aftermath of the incident.According to the investigation, the property was owned by Urmila Gupta and jointly managed by her husband Hari Ram Gupta and son Mahesh Gupta, both of whom have also been named as accused.The report stated that no land-use conversion permission had been obtained and that the premises had been commercially rented out without the required approvals.Police said the contractor engaged two unqualified labourers for the repair work and neither he nor the owners sought the opinion of any qualified structural expert before undertaking the alterations.
