LAHORE: Police have registered a case against a contractor and the owners of a tuition centre, the roof of which collapsed on Tuesday, resulting in the death of 14 children.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Operations Faisal Kamran also confirmed to Dawn that the owners and the contractor who constructed the house where the tuition centre was set up were nominated in the first information report (FIR).

The FIR, a copy of which is available with Dawn, was registered on Tuesday under Sections 322 (manslaughter) and 337-H (punishment for hurt by rash or negligent act) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

It was registered at the Kahna police station on the complaint of a Lahore Metropolitan Corporation official, Kashif Aslam.

The complainant told police that he reached the site of the incident at around 5:15pm, where children were buried under the rubble following the roof collapse at the private tuition centre.

After rescue teams were subsequently called in, 14 children were found dead and six others with injuries, the FIR quoted him as saying.

According to the FIR, the tuition centre was being run in a house owned by individuals identified as Rehan, Faizan, Usman and Umar.

The FIR said Rehan’s wife was teaching students in one of the rooms of the centre and was also injured in the incident. Meanwhile, Rehan, Usman and Umar, along with a contractor identified as Umair, were putting soil onto the roof of the building, which was already in a dilapidated condition, it added.

“Due to their negligence and the extra load, the roof of the room collapsed,” the FIR stated.

On Tuesday, the Lahore police said two individuals, including the owner of the property, had been taken into custody as part of the initial investigation. They said that evidence was being collected and strict action would be taken against those found guilty of negligence.

DIG Operations Faisal Kamran said the contractor who constructed the house was among those detained.

Meanwhile, the Punjab CM directed the police and district government authorities to determine the role of those individuals found responsible for the roof collapse and the consequent deaths for criminal proceedings.

‘Tragedy of unimaginable proportions’

On Wednesday, mourners shouldered bedframes in a procession through the narrow streets of the Kahna area as they carried the bodies of 14 children killed in the roof collapse.

Residents and families gathered by freshly dug graves at a nearby cemetery before returning to a neighbourhood where frantic rescue efforts had given way to mourning.

Grief engulfed the community, with some wiping away tears and embracing while others called for urgent action by authorities to prevent further disasters.

“For our community, this is nothing less than a catastrophe,” said 48-year-old resident Aas Muhammad, adding that some families had lost multiple children when the roof gave way during their lessons.

Residents of the disadvantaged neighbourhood to the south of Lahore said they had suspicions that the building housing the tuition centre was rundown. However, there was a dearth of nearby options to give their children a chance at improving their education and forging a better future.

“Everyone knew that the condition of the building was very poor,” said Muhammad Farooq, 30, whose daughter was killed. “But we had no choice.”

Hundreds of mourners took part in funeral prayers at the local mosque before the dead children, mostly aged between four and 12, were carried to the graveyard for burial.

“I would like to appeal to all relevant government authorities to fulfil their responsibilities by carrying out thorough structural inspections of schools and other educational institutions,” resident Aas Muhammad said, adding that the disaster should serve as a “wake-up call”.

“No child should ever be placed at risk simply for seeking education,” Muhammad said.

Broken bricks, twisted steel beams and shattered concrete lay strewn across the ground at the collapse site as local residents looked on in disbelief.

Remnants of children’s belongings were still partially buried beneath the rubble.

“This is a tragedy of unimaginable proportions,” resident Muhammad Anwer, 53, told AFP.

“It is not only the families who have lost their children who have been devastated; the entire community has been left in mourning.”

Separately, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz announced Rs2 million for the families of the children, as per a statement issued by the adviser to the chief minister Zeeshan Malik.

CM Maryam also announced Rs0.5m for the injured.

The incident comes less than two months after four children were killed and 20 people injured after the roof of a classroom at a private school in Dera Ghazi Khan collapsed.

A probe into the incident revealed that construction for an extension of the tuition centre’s building was under way when the roof of the classroom collapsed.

According to the district administration’s incident report, the roof was overloaded as sand and bricks were placed on it, and it could not bear the load and consequently collapsed.