New Delhi, Nov 7 (IANS) The owner of the now-collapsed three-storey building in Delhi's Chawri Bazar area, along with three contractors, has been arrested, with the death toll in the tragic incident climbing to six, police said. Officials said that six bodies have been recovered so far during rescue operations at the site. Five of the six deceased -- Sanjeet Kumar, Pankaj Sharma, Shantu and Dinesh Sah, all hailed from Khagaria district in Bihar, while Kishori Sah was a resident of state's Saharsa. Another victim, Vipin Ram, resided in Delhi's Fazilpur area.

Meanwhile, police said that the building owner, Saimullah alias Ayub, a resident of Delhi, has been arrested. In addition to this, three contractors have also been arrested after being apprehended from Sirohi village in Faridabad, officials said. The arrested individuals have been identified as Siraj, Tajuddin and Furkan, all inhabitants of the national capital. An FIR dated November 5 has been registered against all the four accused at Hauz Qazi police station under Sections 105/290/125(a)/3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The three-storey under-construction building collapsed on Thursday. According to the officials, the information about the collapse was received at 9:50 a.m. from Gali Sitara, near Chawri Bazaar Metro Station. Subsequently, a massive rescue operation involving the Delhi Police, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Delhi Fire Services and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was launched.

Two bodies were recovered on Thursday, while one injured person was rescued and sent to the hospital for treatment. According to the police, the construction work underway in a now-collapsed building in Delhi's Chawri Bazaar area was illegal, and the building was unsafe. Meanwhile, the Municipal Corporation suspended its Junior Engineer (JE) and Assistant Engineer (AE), and an FIR has been registered against the contractor following the tragedy.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has assured that every possible effort will be made to evacuate those trapped under the debris. She said an investigation is underway and strict action will be taken against those responsible.

--IANS