Mohali: Portion of under-construction building at Plaksha University collapses, one dead

Mohali, April 10

One person was killed and five others were injured after a portion of an under-construction building at Plaksha University in Sector 101 collapsed here late on Saturday night.

What happened

The incident took place around 11 pm while a bridge was being constructed to connect two blocks of the building. As the workers were about to lay the concrete mixture, the bridge came down and the supervisor, Honey Kumar, who was standing beneath, got trapped under the wreckage. It took one hour to take out his body out of the debris. His head was badly crushed. Honey Kumar, along with five labourers injured in the mishap, was rushed to the GMCH-32 where he was declared brought dead.

The deceased has been identified as Honey Kumar (27), a resident of Jhanjheri village in Mohali who was working as a supervisor. Those injured were identified as Darshan Singh, Hukum Singh, Awadh, Prem Chand and Dev Lal, all labourers.

According to information, the construction work was on when the incident took place around 11 pm. All the injured persons were taken to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Sector 32, where Honey Kumar was declared brought dead. The other injured persons were discharged after providing treatment. Honey Kumar was married and is survived by his wife and a one-and-a-half-year-old son.

After receiving information, Sub-Divisional Magistrate Harbans Singh and senior police officers rushed to the spot.

It is pertinent to mention here that the state government, led by former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, had given an approval for setting up the self-financed Plaksha University in Mohali last year. Initially, Phase 1 of the university was to be developed at a cost of Rs244 crore. Over five years, a total of Rs1,145 crore was to be spent on setting up the university on more than 50 acres.

The construction work of the university is in full swing.

Kewal Singh, Investigating Officer, said a bridge was being constructed to connect two blocks of the building. As the workers were about to lay the concrete mixture, the bridge came down and the supervisor, Honey Kumar, who was standing beneath the bridge, got trapped under the wreckage.

He said it was after about one hour of rescue operation that his body could be taken out of the debris. He said the victim’s head was badly crushed. He was rushed to the GMCH-32 where he was declared brought dead.

The police have started inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC.