Wall collapse in Noida: DGM quizzed for 7 hours over contract docus

NOIDA: Information given by a deputy general manager at the Noida Authority, who was questioned for 7 hours, has steered the investigation in the Jal Vayu Vihar wall collapse case to a third accused - the proprietor named in the contract for the drain repair work.
Four labourers were buried alive on Tuesday morning, when the peripheral wall of the colony in Sector 21 gave way while they were repairing a drain adjacent to it.
Two of the victims were minors, and eight others were injured in the incident.
Police said on Thursday they will add the third accused's name - Arjun Yadav, believed to be a relative of another key accused Sundar Yadav - in the FIR.
Until now, two men - contractor Sundar and sub-contractor Gul Mohammad - have been charged for death by negligence and the Child Labour Act among other sections of the IPC.
Mohammad was arrested hours after the incident, but Sundar, and now, Arjun, are absconding, police said.
"Gul Mohammad had directed the labourers to contractor Sundar Yadav. Another name that has emerged in the investigation is of Arjun Yadav. The main contract with the Noida Authority was in the name of Arjun Yadav, and Sundar Yadav was only in touch with the workers, which is why they (survivors) had named him in the FIR. We are examining the documents related to the case and will name suspects in the FIR on further investigation," said Harish Chander, deputy commissioner of police, Noida.
Noida Authority DGM Shripal Bhati told TOI he was questioned from 1pm to 8pm on Wednesday.
"I was called to the Sector 20 police station regarding the investigation. The officials had carried out a technical inquiry and required some documents related to the tender awarded to the contractor. We informed the police that the main proprietor was Arjun Yadav on whose name the contract was given," Bhati said.
Noida police said a team had also gone to Badaun, the home district of most of the 12 labourers, to record the survivors' statements.
The workers have alleged that before starting repair work for the drain on Tuesday, they had told the contractor Sundar that the foundation of the wall next to the drain was weak. He had responded, saying he will "take care of it" as the work went on.
Three days on, Sundar is yet to be tracked down, with his last location traced to the Delhi-Noida border on Tuesday, a few minutes after the wall fell.
On Thursday, Noida assistant commissioner of police (ACP-1) Rajneesh Verma said that the force had roped in two more teams to find the accused.
"A total of six teams are working to nab the absconding accused Sundar. Our teams are also trying to get in touch with Arjun, but he is also on the run," he said.