Plaster warnings ignored? Cops to quiz builder, AOA on lapses

Noida: Police will question the builder and apartment owners association (AOA) members to fix accountability for the plaster crash that killed biker Vikas Chawla (46) inside Arihant Amber in Greater Noida West.Four police teams have been formed to reconstruct the chain of lapses that led to his death. The probe will also examine why repeated warnings about falling plaster and concrete inside the complex did not translate into lasting repairs.Chawla, a private company employee, lived in Tower D (flat 1507) with his wife, two children and parents. AOA president Tushar Panda said the incident occurred around 4pm on Saturday as Chawla rode out from Tower D’s parking area into an open space when “a portion of the roof beam fell on him”. “He lost balance on the two-wheeler and hit the tower wall. His head struck the corner,” Panda said.Residents rushed him to Yatharth Hospital, about five minutes away, but he was declared dead on arrival.ACP-2 (central Noida) Jitendra Kumar Singh said an FIR was registered at Bisrakh police station against the builder and the AOA under BNS Section 106 (causing death by negligence). “So far, we have arrested Deepak, the maintenance in-charge of the society. We are examining the AOA’s role, and will contact the builder soon,” he said.According to residents, plaster has been falling off balconies and walls of the society since 2022. Police said a similar incident of a concrete chunk falling off occurred on March 29.Panda blamed construction quality, saying complaints were raised repeatedly. “In 2023 and 2024, we gave written complaints and visited the builder’s office, but there was no attention,” he said, adding the AOA approached UP-Rera in 2024, after which repairs began late last year but “stalled within months”. In a May 29 letter to the district administration, the AOA warned that external plaster and structural components were “highly dilapidated”.Resident Ashutosh Srivastava said complaints were also made to Greater Noida Authority but “there’s been no action so far”.Arihant Group managing director Kaushal Jain rejected the allegations, saying the project received its completion certificate in 2018 and an occupancy certificate on Dec 14, 2018, and that facilities were handed over to the AOA on April 1, 2023. “Once the project is handed over to AOA, they are responsible for its maintenance,” he said.A day after the death, GNIDA decided to conduct a structural audit. “The Authority will initiate a structural audit of the building and its construction and take suitable action based on the report,” said Saumya Srivastava, additional CEO at GNIDA.Arihant Amber has four towers and 628 flats, with 625 families living there.