Meerut: the Special Operation Group team of the UP police arrested Nawazish Shahid, the son of Samajwadi Party MLA and former Cabinet Minister Shahid Manzoor in the Lucknow apartment building collapse case late on Tuesday night. So far three people have died and five are still stuck under the debris of a residential building which collapsed on Wazir Hasanganj Road in Lucknow on Tuesday night.
It was found in the preliminary investigation that the building officially belongs to SP MLA Shahid Manzoor's son Nawazish and his nephew, while the apartment is named after SP MLA's daughter Alaya. Based on this information, the police launched raids at several locations in Lucknow and Meerut to nab the suspects.
The officials finally took Nawazish into custody from his residence at Jali Kothi in Meerut. He was later taken to Lucknow amid tight security arrangements with a Special Operations Group (SOG) team, which further interrogated him there.
The five-storied Alaya Apartment building situated on Bajirahsan Road of Lucknow collapsed on Tuesday evening. As informed by Deputy General of Police DS Chauhan, 14 people have been rescued so far while 5 are still feared trapped as the rescue operation continues.
Read: UP: Five people stuck under debris of collapsed building in Lucknow
In his defense, Shahid Manzoor -- whose son is currently the main suspected culprit behind the mishap -- said, "The building was constructed after purchasing four hundred yards of land purchased in 2003. The land was bought in the names of Nawazish and his nephew Tariq. Yazdan Builder was involved in the construction of the apartment. Around 100 yards out of 300 yards were left out for the laying of apartment road." The Manzoor family has thus denied their role in the mishap and blamed the Yazdan builders for faulty building. A probe in underway as the reacue operation continues.
