The lift installed at the Silver Nest Apartment in Fraser Town — which collapsed on Monday, injuring four girls, three of them grievously — was an unauthorised one, said officials from the Electrical Inspectorate.
“Though the building owner had obtained approval for installing the lift, he had not obtained a licence for its operation from the Department of Electrical Inspectorate,” said D L Nagaraju, additional chief electrical inspector, who visited the spot along with his team on Tuesday.
According to officials, the hydraulic lift which was installed over a year ago operates from the ground floor to the three floors above, though the building has a basement. “The owner had obtained approval for lift installation from the department and the work was started by Gold Jaguar Lifts, an agency registered with us,” said Nagaraju.
The owner and the agency fell out over some financial disputes after which the agency suspended work midway. Later, the owner caught hold of a local vendor, who was not registered with the department, and completed the lift work. The owner did not obtain a licence from the department for operating the lift and left it open for the residents to use.
The officials got to know of the dispute between the registered lift agency and the owner on Tuesday. They couldn’t ascertain what went wrong with the lift cable, which snapped, sending the lift hurtling down from the third floor.
A preliminary probe by the department also revealed that the lift equipment was poorly maintained. “We also have to obtain statements from the four victims, three of whom are still in hospital. One has left the city,” said Nagaraju.
Meanwhile, the Pulakeshinagar police have booked the owner of the apartment under IPC Section 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others). “We are yet to question the owner. His son claims he is unwell and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital,” said a senior police officer.
Tanushree, one of the victims who is in ICU, underwent multiple surgeries.
Her fractures on the right pelvic bone, tailbone, left radius and ulna were fixed using plates and screws, said a hospital source. Akshara and Falaq Patel are recuperating in the hospital.
All the girls are students from Symbiosis Law School in Hyderabad who had come to Bengaluru on an internship two weeks ago.