LAHORE: Police have registered a case against a construction worker and the owner of a tuition centre, the roof of which collapsed on Tuesday, resulting in the death of 14 children.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Operations Faisal Kamran also confirmed to Dawn that the owners and the construction worker were nominated in the first information report (FIR).
The FIR, a copy of which is available with Dawn, was registered on Tuesday under Sections 322 (manslaughter) and 337-H (punishment for hurt by rash or negligent act) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
The complainant stated that he reached the site of the incident at 5:15pm, when young children were buried under the rubble and rescue teams were called in.
It added that the tuition centre had been established in a house owned by Rehan Faizan, Usman Umer, and Muhammad Siddique, and that Rehan’s wife, Amila, taught there.
On the day of the incident, the complainant stated that Faizan, Umer, and Siddique, along with a construction worker identified as Umair, were pouring soil onto the roof of the building, which was already in a dilapidated condition.
“Due to the extra load, the roof of the room collapsed,” the FIR stated.
It added that the aforementioned people had established a tuition centre in a dilapidated building and, at the same time, caused death and injury to the children present at the centre by putting extra load on the roof.
In a statement issued at 7pm on Tuesday, the Lahore police had said two individuals, including the owner of the property, had been taken into custody as part of the initial investigation.
It said that evidence was being collected and strict action would be taken against those found guilty of negligence.
DIG Operations had said that the contractor who constructed the house was among those detained. He noted that a part of the house was under construction and labourers were working when the roof collapsed.
A statement by the Edhi rescue service, which also took part in the rescue operation, said that the roof “collapsed suddenly”. It added that preliminary information indicated that the roof had been constructed using TR girders.
On Tuesday, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also directed the police and district government authorities to determine the role of those individuals found responsible for the roof collapse and, consequently, the deaths, for criminal proceedings.
