Bhendi Bazaar building collapse: SBUT officials booked for culpable homicide, names yet to be revealed

Mumbai: Police have registered a case of `culpable homicide not amounting to murder’ against unnamed officials of the Saifi Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT) in connection with the collapse of a five-story building in south Mumbai last month in which 33 people were killed. “We registered a case against the officials of SBUT and others on Tuesday,” said senior inspector Shirish Gaikwad of JJ Marg police station. [caption id=“attachment_4044739” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of the rescue operation underway in Mumbai’s Bhendi Bazaar area. PTI[/caption] “As the personal responsibility is yet to be fixed, we did not mention any names in the case,” he said. The case was registered under IPC sections 304 (2) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others). Five-story Husaini Building on Pakmodia Street in Dongri area collapsed on 31 August, killing 33 persons. Sixteen others were injured. The dilapidated building, which was more than hundred years old, had been declared dangerous to live in. SBUT is supposed to redevelop several buildings in the area under `cluster redevelopment’ scheme. It is alleged that the trust failed to get the building vacated in time despite getting permission to pull it down in March 2011.