The closed showroom in Dhakoli, Zirakpur, where Pushp Empire’s office is registered. (Express photo) The closed showroom in Dhakoli, Zirakpur, where Pushp Empire’s office is registered. (Express photo) ALTHOUGH SIX days have passed since a three-storey under-construction building collapsed at Peer Muchalla in Zirakpur, Mohali police have failed to make any arrests. Though 17 people, including owners of the land where the building was being constructed, people constructing it, officials who passed building plans, area councillor and their aides, have been booked. The building was coming up over a 600 sq yard area. Owners of the land, Pushp Empire Pvt Ltd, have their registered office at a showroom in Dhakoli, Zirakpur. The office has been lying locked for several months. Shopkeepers in the vicinity told Chandigarh Newsline that nobody visits the office and they have not seen any activity there for many months. “I have not seen this showroom open for many months. Nobody visits here. It is the first time that I am hearing that a real estate company’s office exists in this showroom,” a shopkeeeper, not willing to be named, told Newsline. Chandigarh Newsline also managed to speak to two of the 17 accused, O P Singla, a resident of Baltana, and Pushpinder Goyal (one of the directors of Pushp Empire Pvt Ltd). While Singla claimed that he owns an adjoining piece of land and had nothing to do with the land on which the building was coming up, Goyal told Newsline that it was the responsibility of the people who were carrying out the construction work. “Although the building plans were passed in the name of Pushp Empire Pvt Ltd, we had signed an MoU with three persons, Sanjeev Goyal, Amit Goyal and Mandeep Singla, who were raising the building on our land. We are not responsible for the construction,” Goyal told Newsline. Sanjeev, Amit and Mandeep have also been named in the same FIR. “There were 18 flats being constructed in the three-storey building. To my knowledge, all the flats were yet to be sold. Even bookings were yet to be opened to the public,” Goyal added. “Our company was registered in 2006 at this address [Dhakoli showroom]. But later, we shifted our office to some other place,” Goyal told Newsline. Despite repeated queries, he did not reveal the place where he shifted his office. Mohali police, on the other hand, were yet to verify the relevant records from the Zirakpur Municipal Council’s office. Sub-Inspector Jagjeet Singh, in-charge of the Dhakoli police post where the case was registered on April 12, said, “We have collected relevant records of the project from rthe Zirakpur Municipal Council. We are yet to scrutinise the records to pinpoint the exact role of all those involved in the lapse that led to the building collapse. Subsequently, we shall begin arresting the accused.” The SI added that provisions of cheating were added in the FIR since they were yet to verify if the owners or promoters of this project had sold any flat to any private entity. The then Senior Engineer (SE) Kuldeep Verma, Estate Officer Surinder Pal Singh are also among the 17 named in the FIR. Verma is currently posted as SE at the Zirakpur MC while Surinder is currently working as Assistant Deputy Director at the local bodies department in Patiala. Director, Department of Local Bodies, Karnesh Sharma, told Newsline that an inquriy was already under way against these officials. “Once the inquiry is complete, action shall be taken against them accordingly,” Sharma said. For all the latest Chandigarh News, download Indian Express App

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