Ghaziabad: The kin of 25 deceased and 20 injured in the Muradnagar roof collapse incident have now blocked the national highway 58 demanding increased compensation and assistance by the government.
Stating that among the dead were sole bread earners and their death has done an irreparable loss to the family, the locals demand that the government helps the victim families to survive.
Earlier, three persons including a junior engineer were arrested in connection with the Muradnagar roof collapse incident in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad on Monday.
According to the police, an FIR against contractor Ajay Tyagi, engineer Niharika Singh, junior engineer Chandra Pal, supervisor Ashish, and an unnamed official of the corporation involved in the construction, under Sections 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety), 338 (Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 409 (Criminal breach of trust by public servant) and 427 (Mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) has been registered and the investigation is on.
However, a political storm is now brewing over the incident and locals are now demanding a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of the deceased.
ETV Bharat spoke to a local, Yakub, who said that an elderly man had died last night and to cremate him, family and friends had come to the crematorium. After offering the sacred fire, all the people stood under the roof since it started raining heavily. But, the roof collapsed suddenly.
According to Yakub, more than 50 people were standing under the roof that was constructed only two months ago.
Yakub added substandard material was used for building the roof and that's why it could not withstand the rain and collapsed.
After the accident, DM Ajay Shankar Pandey and Union Minister Ghaziabad MP VK Singh reached the spot to express their sorrow and added that a fair high-level inquiry has been ordered regarding this incident.
At least 25 people were killed and 20 others were injured as the roof of a structure in a cemetery in the Muradnagar area collapsed while they were sheltering under it amid heavy rains after attending a funeral on Sunday, officials said.
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The incident was reported in the morning when around 50 people, who came for the last rites of a fruit-seller, took shelter under the roof of a recently-built corridor to save themselves from getting drenched. However, minutes later, the roof of the structure collapsed.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were called to join the police and district administration for the operation to rescue those trapped under the debris as well as extricate the bodies of the deceased victims.
Ghaziabad Superintendent of Police Abhishek Verma said that of the 20 injured, eight are in critical condition and are being treated in different hospitals.
"The corridor was almost 25 feet long and prima facie it seems it came down because of the heavy downpour," Verma said.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh have expressed grief over the incident in which around 25 people have reportedly died.
At the same time, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced an ex-gratia sum of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to people injured in the incident and ordered an investigation under the supervision of Meerut Divisional Commissioner and Inspector General of Police. The officials of Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC) and Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) are also assisting officials in the investigation.
(With IANS inputs.)
