Gurugram high-rise roof collapse: Residents stage protest, seek CBI probe

Gurugram, Feb 20 (IANS) Hundreds of residents of Chintels Paradiso apartments on Sunday staged demonstrations and held a protest march demanding a CBI probe into the high-rise roof collapse in Gurugram's Sector 109 that claimed two lives.

The angry residents also sought "immediate arrest" of the promoters & directors of Chintels India Ltd and the government officials who gave occupation certificate (OC) for these apartments.

The residents, carrying placards, also protested against the police and the district administration. The protest was also supported by the other adjoining housing society residents.

The protest march began from Chintels Paradiso main gate towards ATS chowk (through Chintels Serenity, Brisk Lumbini, Raheja Chowk and later), to back to the main gate of the apartments.

"Two innocent lives were lost, and one fellow resident was seriously injured. Our fellow residents of D tower have been displaced from their homes, and the residents of other Chintels Paradiso towers have been staying in a state of fear & anguish in an unsafe environment, so we need immediate action against those guilty," Lalit Kapoor, a resident said.

"The protest was against the inaction of government and administration because even after several days, despite all our pleas, the Central Government, Haryana government, and senior administrative officials have not taken any action, and the builder Chintels India Ltd and other Government officials responsible for this are roaming freely," Sonia, another resident said.

Two separate FIRs have been registered in the incident till now.

The first FIR was registered on February 10 over a complaint by the husband of one of the victims. The second FIR in the case, naming all the directors of Chintels India Limited; Ashok Solomon, Chairman of Chintels India Ltd; structure engineer, architect and contractor, was registered on February 13.

"We demand that the guilty -- promoters & directors of Chintels India Ltd and its sister concerns, and the government officials who gave OC for these apartments -- be arrested and a CBI inquiry into the incident be initiated," Nidhi Sharma, a resident said.

According to the police, the structural audit report regarding the reasons for the collapse of floors of the residential tower is awaited from the Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP), and action will be taken according to law.

"We have already invested our savings in this society and are now forced to spend the nights in the open. We are scared to enter the premises. We require stringent action against those who are guilty," a protesting resident said.