Man arrested in connection with Maharashtra's Raigad building collapse, sent to 5-day police custody

The Maharashtra Police on Wednesday arrested a man in connection with the 5-storey building collapse in Raigad district that killed 15 people. The relief and rescue work is still underway more than 36 hours since the incident occurred. 

The police has arrested RCC roof consultant Bahubali Dhamane in the building from Navi Mumbai area. He has been sent to police custody for five days. The police has registered a case against five people in this case.

On August 25, two people were taken out alive--a 4-year-old child and a 64-year-old female. One person is still feared trapped under the debris. Three teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are at the spot for rescue operations along with volunteers from the local administration. 

Expressing his grief on the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on microblogging site Twitter wrote that his thoughts and prayers were with the families who lost their dear ones. He also said that the local authorities and NDRF teams were providing all possible assistance at the site.

"Saddened by the building collapse in Mahad, Raigad in Maharashtra. My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their dear ones. I pray the injured recover soon. Local authorities and NDRF teams are at the site of the tragedy, providing all possible assistance," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted quoting PM Modi.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray spoke to the district officials and asked them to expedite the rescue and relief work. State Minister Vijay Wadettiwar announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh to the family of each person killed in the incident.

According to the police, an FIR was registered against five people earlier on Tuesday at Mahad city police station over the building collapse in a residential area of Mahad, Raigad district. 

The FIR has been filed under Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 304-A (causing death by negligence), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life) and 34 (acts by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

An official at the Mantralaya State Control Room of the State Disaster Management Unit said the Tarek Garden building collapsed at Kajalpura in Mahad tehsil around 7 pm.

The building was constructed around 5-6 years ago and there were around 40 flats in the building. There were around 40 flats in the building, the official said, adding those rescued were shifted to a local hospital at Mahad, which is around 170 km from Mumbai.