Saurabh Bhardwaj alleged that the administration’s first action after the collapse was to jam mobile signals.
It was done only so that the children trapped under the rubble could not call people they knew and so that the outside world would not find out how many people were actually trapped.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Tuesday rejected allegations that mobile phone jammers had been deployed at the Satya Niketan building collapse rescue site, terming the claims “completely false” and asserting that mobile networks were fully operational during the rescue operation. The Delhi Police said personnel of the Delhi Police, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and fire department were coordinating seamlessly through mobile phones without any disruption, according to news agency PTI. In a post on X, the Delhi Police said: “Rumours of mobile jammers at the Satya Niketan rescue site are completely FALSE. Responding to the Delhi Police’s categorical denial, Bharadwaj told ANI, “Delhi Police is lying.
The police also pointed out that media personnel and citizens at the site were broadcasting live without any disruption to mobile connectivity. He also alleged delays in the arrival of emergency services, saying, “The administration’s ambulance arrived two hours after the incident, while the first ambulance to reach the site was a private Blinkit ambulance. Relief and rescue operations also began with a delay of around two to two-and-a-half hours, while the NDRF team arrived three hours late. I was there, along with hundreds of people. Let the Delhi Police officials come, and let the commissioner and Rekha Gupta come with us to Satya Niketan. Phones were not working there after the incident. Without following due process, the connection at a disaster site was illegally jammed. “In such accidents, people can sometimes survive inside the rubble and make phone calls from within to seek help and rescue. But the BJP government closed off that avenue too by installing a jammer. This is such a cruel government. Delhi Police have registered an FIR alleging that the building’s owners, Hari Bansal and his brother, added four floors for rental income despite load-bearing concerns, with fresh construction underway at the time of the collapse.
Today, people hate the Delhi Police,” he added.