5 killed, 9 hurt after building collapses in Maharashtra’s Virar; builder arrested
A 47-year-old builder was arrested after a building collapsed in Maharashtra’s Virar East on Tuesday night, killing five people, injuring nine, and prompting the rescue of at least 15 others by Wednesday evening, police said.
Nittal Sane, the builder of Ramabai Apartment located in the Narangi area of Virar East, was arrested under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) and relevant sections of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act.
District magistrate Indurani Jakhar inspected the spot and said that the revenue department, police, and municipal corporation are continuing the rescue operation. “The work of removing people from the debris is going on rapidly under the supervision of NDRF,” said Indurani.
According to police, Ramabai Apartment, built in 2011, was declared unsafe by the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation, but no action was taken.
Among those killed were members of the Jovil family, who were celebrating a one-year-old girl’s birthday when a part of the building collapsed, killing the girl, Utkarsha, and her mother, Arohi. The girl’s father, Omkar Jovil, is still missing.
The fire brigade team of the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are engaged in relief and rescue work at the spot. “The operation is difficult due to narrow streets and a densely populated area, and heavy machinery like JCB is facing difficulty entering the narrow lanes,” said a fire brigade officer.
Police and Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) officers said that 18 people have been pulled out from the debris so far. “People who were injured have been taken to various hospitals in Mumbai and Vasai-Virar.”
Locals said that Ramabai Apartment, which housed around 50 flats, was issued a notice in May, but allegedly no action was taken.
“If action had been taken in time, several lives could have been saved. This tragedy of Virar not only exposes the administrative apathy, but also tells how negligence and greed of VVCMC swallowed innocent lives,” said a resident.
