Three killed, four still missing in Punjab’s building collapse

Ludhiana  : Three labourers were killed and four were still trapped on Monday when an unauthorized under-construction portion of a two-storeyed auto manufacturing factory in Punjab’s  Ludhiana town collapsed, police said.Thirty seven labourers were rescued in a joint operation by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the local administration.The  building is located in a densely populated locality in Mukand Nagar on Daba Road.Deputy Commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma told the media that the lintel on the third floor  collapsed when the factory owner was carrying out illegal construction.Rescue officials at the site said that efforts were being made to locate the trapped people.Police said that a  lintel of the building collapsed, partially damaging nearby buildings too.According to the police, the injured were admitted to the Civil Hospital and SPS Apollo Hospital.The  construction was underway without the permission of the Municipal Corporation, a senior police official told IANS. The factory owner was trying to extend the structure of the  building by placing jacks on the third floor.Ludhiana Police Commissioner Rakesh Agrawal said a case has been registered against contractor Mohammad Haroon under Section  304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.