Mumbai building collapse: Corporators oppose lenience to accused

Mumbai: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) corporators cutting across party lines said here today that those arrested for the BMC building collapse near Mazgaon Dock last week, must not be treated leniently and opposed writing a letter to Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh, urging him not to register a criminal case against them. The recent building collapse was discussed during the BMC’s weekly standing committee meeting, where its Additional Municipal Commissioner Mohan Adtani said that the civic body plans to write to the Mumbai police chief not to frame criminal charges against engineers and officials arrested in connection with the building collapse.

“It was not intentional on the part of officials. We will initiate disciplinary action against the concerned officials for dereliction of their duties. It is not a crime. It is a civil matter,” Adtani told standing committee members. Annoyed over the stand taken by the senior official, corporators opposed the move and questioned how it could merely be called “a civil matter”. “Strict action should be initiated against top officers who were responsible for the collapse,” Anuradha Pednekar of Shiv Sena said.

PTI