Kalupur building collapse accused Mehboob gets bail

The Gujarat High Court,on Friday,granted bail to Mehboob Baig alias Mehboob Senior (56), one of the main accused in the Kalupur building collapse case where a five-storey building had collapsed on January 28 this year,killing five persons and injuring several others.

The Ahmedabad City Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) has chargesheeted six persons including Baig. The other five are the main builders- Mohammed Salim alias Salim Bata,Mohammed Hanif alias Hanif Bata,Mohammed Munaf alias Munaf Bata,and Salim Chand Mansuri and Anwarkhan Pathan. Baig has been termed as the business partner of the Batas as he had allegedly lent Rs 2 lakh to the Batas.

Baig’s lawyer,Umesh Trivedi said,“There is no evidence to prove that he is their partner. The only evidence is that of Baig lending Rs 2 lakh to the Batas. But that does not prove that he is their business partner.” Baig had also argued in the court that he cannot be held responsible for the poor construction of the building since he had only lent money to the builders.