Zaveri Bazaar building collapse: two arrested

On December 16 last year, four labourers working at the Dhanji Munji building died after the common passageway of the building came crashing down during repairs. The deceased had been identified as Firoz Khan (22), Safarul Haq (23), Rocky Shaikh (19) and Barkatulla Khan (50). MHADA had given a contract to repair the building that had been dilapidated. The building residents had vacated it in September last year. In December, an ADR had been filed in the matter.

“During investigation, we checked the paperwork between MHADA and the contractor. We found that the contract was merely for repairing parts that were dilapidated. The accused had, however, started demolishing a part of the structure to rebuild it again,” an officer said. He added, “Secondly, no safety gear like helmets were provided to the labourers, which could have saved their lives.”

Following the investigation, the LT Marg police registered an FIR under section 304 (2) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. The accused were produced before a local court that remanded them in police custody till April 12. Lawyer Ajay Dubey, representing the accused said, “The case against my clients is false and they are just being made scapegoats by the police.”