Meerut demolition: Executive Engineer sent to judicial custody

Meerut, Jul 11: Executive Engineer of the Cantonment Board, Anuj Singh, arrested following the deaths of four people during an anti-encroachment drive, was sent to judicial custody on Sunday.

Singh was presented at the local court which remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days, police said. Local businessmen, led by Naveen Gupta, staged a protest outside the court over Assistant Engineer Piyush Gautam not being presented in the court today, they said. [4 buried alive during demolition drive in Meerut]

They withdrew their protest after SP (City) Omprakash assured them of strict action against all the accused.

In an anti-encroachment drive, Bungalow No 210, was demolished by the Cantonment Board authorities yesterday during which a few people, who apparently were still in the building, were buried under the rubble, leading to the death of four of them.

Singh and Gautam were arrested yesterday. Meanwhile, on the direction of Acting District Magistrate Dinesh Chand, City Magistrate Keshav Kumar has begun a magisterial enquiry the report of which has to be submitted within 15 days.

PTI