Gurugram construction site accident: Seven killed in soil collapse; two officials arrested

A soil mound collapsed at the Signature Global Society site in Gurugram, killing seven labourers and injuring four, including three Nepalese men. Police registered an FIR under BNS sections 105 and 125 and arrested the project and site in-charge. District officials formed an inquiry committee amid allegations of inadequate labour safety measures.

Seven labourers died and four others were hurt after soil caved in at a Gurugram worksite. Police said three of the injured were Nepalese men. The collapse happened on Monday evening at Signature Global Society in the Sidhrawali area. Police said the project in-charge and the site in-charge were arrested on Tuesday.

The injured were taken to a hospital in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, where doctors declared seven dead. Officials said the deaths appeared linked to asphyxiation. Police said postmortems would be done in Gurugram. Police also said families of the victims were informed after the incident.

Gurugram construction site collapse: FIR and arrests

A Gurugram police spokesperson said an FIR was filed under BNS sections 105 and 125. Section 105 relates to culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Section 125 concerns acts that endanger life or personal safety. Gurugram Police also said they were checking if authorities were alerted late.

Inspector Sunil Kumar, SHO of Bilaspur police station in Gurugram, confirmed two arrests. "We have arrested Dineshwar and Vikas, project in-charge and site incharge and further investigations are on,\" the SHO said. Police said the investigation continued after the arrests.

Gurugram construction site collapse: Rescue and victims

Bhiwadi DSP Yogesh told reporters a sewerage treatment plant (STP) was being built when the soil mound fell. The DSP said around 12-15 labourers were trapped under debris. Teams from Bilaspur Police Station, SDRF and NDRF reached the spot. Rescuers pulled workers out and shifted them to hospital.

Police said six of the dead were men from Jharkhand. Police identified Satish, from Bharatpur in Rajasthan, as the seventh victim. Among the four injured, police named Indrajit, Chhotelal and Shivkam Chaudhary as residents of Nepal. Officials said the fourth injured worker was also receiving treatment.

Gurugram construction site collapse: Safety claims and compensation demand

Relatives of one worker alleged safety steps were missing at the site. A family member in Bhiwadi said workers were several feet below ground when soil fell. Another injured worker said the mound collapsed without warning and workers were buried. Two workers said they escaped after being sent to collect material shortly before.

Satish had worked at the site for nearly a year, Satish’s brother Rameshwar told reporters. Satish was survived by a 3-year-old son, among others. Rameshwar said proper safety equipment was not available at the site. A kin of the deceased also demanded Rs 50 lakh as compensation.

In a written complaint, Rameshwar said the STP work at Signature Global Company was done by a private construction company. The complaint said workers were made to work inside a deep, kutcha pit. It accused the construction company, contractor, and several in-charges of failing on safety. The complaint linked that failure to the soil collapse and deaths.

Gurugram construction site collapse: Labour Department action and inquiry

Haryana’s Labour Department ordered a halt to work at the building site. The order barred further construction under project M/s Signature Global India Pvt Ltd at village Sidhrawali, NH-8 Gurugram. Work could resume only after safe conditions were restored. The department said the direction was meant to reduce risks to workers.

Sumit Kumar, Assistant Director, Industrial Safety and Health, Gurugram-II, inspected the site on Tuesday. The order said the excavation was about 30 feet deep. It noted the banks were undercut and landslides were possible. It also reported part of the boundary wall had fallen into the excavation.

The order said undercutting continued below the remaining wall at several points. It added that pillars were left hanging without support in some places. The official warned such conditions could cause casualties. The Labour Department repeated that construction must stop until safe working conditions were restored at the site.

Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Ajay Kumar formed an inquiry committee of officials. The district administration said the committee was headed by SDM Manesar Darshan Yadav. Darshan Yadav visited the site on Tuesday and reviewed the area. The administration said the panel would submit its report to the deputy commissioner within a set timeframe.

With inputs from PTI