Ex-SP MLA Booked for Culpable Homicide in Apartment Collapse Case

The Hazratganj police in Lucknow has filed a charge sheet in the Alaya Apartment collapse case, accusing former SP MLA Shahid Manzoor of culpable homicide.

Charges under the Criminal Act, conspiracy and other IPC sections have also been filed against him, his son and three others.

Police said evidence from CCTV footage and photographs obtained hours before the collapse of Alaya Apartment had confirmed that Shahid Manzoor was involved in the excavation work at the building which led to the tragic incident, claiming three lives.

The divisional commissioner's committee, chaired by Roshan Jacob, also corroborated these findings in its report, said the police.

The accused include Shahid Manzoor, his son Nawazish Shahid, nephew Mohammad Tariq, Fahad Yazdani and Saim Yazdani.

The police have invoked the Gangster Act against all five individuals and are preparing to attach their properties.

Shahid Manzoor, a resident of the Delhi Gate area in Meerut district, allegedly exerted pressure on individuals to sell a plot of land where Alaya Apartment was constructed.

Nawazish and Tariq subsequently bought the plot and entered into a builder agreement with Fahad Yazdani and Saim Yazdani to construct the apartment.

It was built without approved maps, and despite notices from the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) against the construction, the former minister and his son allegedly continued with the illegal construction, selling flats to customers using fraudulent maps.

The five-storey Alaya Apartment had collapsed on January 24, 2023, in which Uzma Haider, 35, and Begum Haider, 75, wife and mother of Samajwadi Party spokesperson Abbas Haider respectively, and an Unnao-based teacher Shabana, 42, had lost their lives.

Collapse of the Alaya Apartment prompted an extensive rescue operation by the fire department, police, SDRF and NDRF which continued for three days.

Investigations revealed gross violations in the construction process, indicating a blatant disregard for safety regulations. DCP, central zone, Raveena Tyagi said the probe was on.