A family, including a 95-year-old woman and a toddler, were allegedly locked inside their illegally constructed house in Tughlakabad when the South Delhi Municipal Corporation sealed it earlier this month.
SDMC Mayor Subhash Arya ordered an inquiry into the incident after councillors created uproar over the issue at a meeting of the House on Thursday.
Leader of the Opposition Farhad Suri said: “The corporation is trying to shield the officials involved. Let there be a free probe into the incident.”
As per councillors, the family was inside their Tughlakabad Extension house when the SDMC officials went to seal it. However, officials said the residents re-entered the premises after the sealing drive.
SDMC Commissioner Puneet Kumar Goel said: “The corporation first gave the owner a sealing notice in 2012. He filed an affidavit saying he will rectify the illegalities in the structure. He didn’t do his part and we served another notice in 2014.”
The Commissioner said a team went to the area on May 2 and sealed the building after finding the house empty. Mr. Suri, however, said the 95-year-old grandmother couldn’t have entered the house from a seven-metre gap in the back wall, as suggested by the officials.
Mr. Arya said the family had organised religious ceremonies to thwart off officials during the sealing drive.
“People do all kinds of things to avoid sealing, like holding pooja at that time. However, we should check if they are inside the building. I have asked the Additional Commissioner to report in a week,” said the Mayor.
