Delhi Police has arrested a 26 year-old man, who owned a shop on the ground floor of a building, which collapsed in the Sabzi Mandi area here killing two children, on Tuesday for allegedly conducting repair work that weakened the structure.

The accused has been identified as Mohak Arora, a resident of the area who had recently bought the shop in the four-storey building and was renovating it.

According to a senior police official, preliminary investigation has revealed that Arora had got a platform removed from the ground floor of the building on Sunday during the ongoing renovation work at his shop which led to weakening of the building’s structure and eventually, it collapsed on Monday.

The building in the congested north Delhi market place led to the death of Somya (12) and Prashant Gupta (7), who were walking past it along with their mother.

The shop, which was bought by Arora, earlier sold milk, and he was renovating it as he wanted to start some work related to electrical appliances, police said, adding that he already had a shop that sold electrical items in Sabzi Mandi. “Mohak Arora has been arrested under a case registered against him under Indian Penal Code sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 288 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down or repairing buildings) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention),” said police. The children, residents of Roshnara Road in Old Delhi, were trapped under the debris of the building, according to police.