The Aarey police on Thursday arrested four more persons in connection with the Royal Palms villa collapse, which left seven labourers dead and six others seriously injured on Tuesday evening. “Those arrested include a partner of Al-Mehendi constructions (which was given the contract by Royal Palms for the construction). All the accused would be presented to the court on Friday for police custody, we are investigating the case further,” said Shivaji Bodke, deputy commissioner of police (Zone XI). The four persons arrested today are: Hidayat Ali Saiyeed, partner in the Al-Mehendi constructions; Parvez Khan, site engineer; Subodh Mistry, architect; and Jayesh Shah, structural engineer. The police say more arrests may follow if any of the four accused points towards the involvement of anyone else. Yesterday, the police had arrested two persons — site engineer Kashid Ali Sayeed and contractor Mohammed Ali Saiyeed. They are in judicial custody. All six have been charged with negligence and culpable homicide not amounting to murder among other Sections of the Indian Penal Code. The police are also investigating if Royal Palms had extended the building illegally. They are checking that with the BMC. Result of tests on the quality of the building material being conducted at the Forensic Science Laboratory are expected to come in by Monday, said a police official. According to the police, all the injured persons admitted to Bhagwati Hospital and a private hospital are believed to be out of danger.
