Thane building collapse: Civic officials were bribed, says police

Three days after the collapse of a seven-storey Thane residential complex killed 74 people, the police confirmed that the building was illegal and further charged that civic officials were bribed during the construction.

Addressing a press conference today, the Thane police said that the NCP corporator and the Assistant Police Inspector in the area were bribed. “Rs 5 lakh was recovered from the suspended police inspector,” he said.

“This incident has also shed a light on the government-builder nexus” he said.

He said that the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) is investigating the case and everyone involved in the building construction, even if they were government officials, will be brought to justice.

The two developers of the building have been produced before a court in the Thane district on Sunday.

The developers – Jamil Qureshi and Salim Shaikh – involved in the construction of the illegal seven-storey building were arrested on Saturday. They have been arrested under relevant sections of IPC, including sections 304(A) (causing death by negligence), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), police said.

In addition to their arrests, five more persons, including an assistant municipal commissioner and a NCP corporator, were today arrested in connection with the building collapse in Thane district, police said.

“One of the builders was caught in UP, while the other was arrested from Thane”, said the Thane police commissioner addressing a press conference.

With this, the total number of arrests has gone up to eight. The five arrested persons are Assistant Municipal Commissioner Babasaheb Andale, constable S Sayeed, local NCP corporator Hira Patil, Thane Municipal Corporation clerk Kisan Madke and collection agent Jabbar Patel.

The death toll in the seven-storey building collapse has mounted to 74, while 62 have been rescued alive as the National Disaster Response Force ended their rescue operation on Friday afternoon.

According to Regional Disaster Management Control (RDMC) sources, 72 people including 30 women were killed in the tragedy while around 36 injured have been admitted to hospitals in Thane, Kalwa and Mumbra. The seriously injured have been shifted to JJ and Sion Hospitals in Mumbai.

The illegal structure, which was under-construction, collapsed in Shil Phata area at around 6.30 PM on Thursday. Shil Phata is located between Mumbra and Dombivli in Thane district.

The building, which was in a forested area in Thane, had been made using poor materials and without proper approvals, said Sandeep Malvi, a spokesman for licensing authority the Thane Municipal Corporation.

A sharp rise in property prices in densely populated Mumbai over the past five years has put housing out of reach for tens of thousands of lower earners, many of whom moved to the city in search of jobs, and who now sleep on the streets or in slums.

In 2012, India’s urban housing shortage was estimated at nearly 19 million households, according to a report by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation.

With inputs from Agencies