Thane:
The two real-estate developers who illegally constructed a seven-storey building that collapsed in Thane, killing more than 73 people and injuring over 60, were arrested today.
The builders, Jamil Qureshi and Salim Sheikh, have been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
They had gone missing on Thursday when the building came down crashing like a pack of cards, trapping people under the debris.
(Watch: who is responsible?)Thane Police Commissioner KP Raghuvanshi told the Press Trust of India that Jamil Qureshi was arrested from Uttar Pradesh and Salim Sheikh from Thane.
The building reportedly came up in just six weeks, with sub-standard material. An eighth was under construction when it collapsed. Homes, offices and shops had been set up within the building without an occupancy certificate.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan yesterday said the building was illegal and ordered an inquiry. The same day, the Deputy Municipal Commissioner of Thane and a senior police officer from the local police station were suspended.
The victims of the tragedy were mostly daily wagers working at the construction site and their families.
(Read: Imran, who lost 13 family members)The scale of the tragedy is such that workers finished rescue work this afternoon, almost 48 hours later. Among the miraculous survivors were two children - one a 10-month-old.
(Read)
One of the angles of the inquiry will be how the building was allowed to come up. Mangal Patil, a Thane resident, had complained thrice since February about the building and even submitted photographs to the Thane Municipal Corporation, which is controlled by the Shiv Sena. He sent copies to the Chief Minister's office, but says no one responded.
"Ninety per cent of buildings in Mumbra are illegal," Thane Municipal Commissioner RA Rajeev told NDTV yesterday.