Mumbai building collapse: Owner who had rented out flats arrested

Most of those who died in the incident were tenants.Dilip Vishwas, the arrested man, was a contractor by profession, and named in the First Information Report, said a police official.He had allegedly rented out his flats in the building, located in Naik Nagar Housing Society, he said.

Police on Wednesday arrested a 40-year-old man who had allegedly rented out his flats in the ill-fated building in suburban Kurla which collapsed and claimed the lives of 19 persons. A case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder was registered earlier in the day against some flat owners and others at Nehru Nagar police station in connection with the Monday midnight's incident. Most of those who died in the incident were tenants.

Dilip Vishwas, the arrested man, was a contractor by profession, and named in the First Information Report, said a police official.

He had allegedly rented out his flats in the building, located in Naik Nagar Housing Society, he said. As per the FIR, flat owners including Rajni Rathod, Kishore Chavan, Balkrishna Rathod and Vishwas rented out their flats even though the building had been declared as dilapidated by the civic body BMC.

A case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 304 (2) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 34 (common intention) has been registered against them. Senior BMC officials had claimed that residents of the building, constructed in 1973, had undertaken to carry out repairs, but apparently no repairs were carried out.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)