10 years on, Thane building collapse victims still waiting for justice

Ten years after a building collapse in Mumbra area of Maharashtras Thane district claimed lives of 74 people and left more than 60 others injured the victims and their families are still awaiting justiceThe Adarsh building located at Lucky Compound in Mumbra township crashed on April 4 2013 following which 27 people including senior civic officials middlemen builders contractors a corporator and a policeman were named as accused in the case They were arrested and later granted bailThe next hearing in the case is coincidentally on April 4The accused in the case are facing charges under Indian Penal Code Sections 304 culpable homicide not amounting to murder 336 337 338 all pertaining to act done rashly or negligently so as to endanger human life or the personal safety others 308 attempt to commit culpable homicide 120B criminal conspiracy and 34 common intention as well as provisions of the Prevention of Corruption ActEighteen children were among the 74 people killed in the building collapse The residents of the building included construction workers and their familiesAlso Read Maha Four held for house breaking theft of farm produceThe Bombay High Court had in 2015 asked a Thane court to conclude the trial in the case in 18 months but the hearing in the case is still onAfter the building collapsed local authorities had said the structure was under construction and did not have an occupancy certificateA witness Mangal S Patil had told a Thane court that the building constructed by Jamil Qureshi Salim Shaikh and their partners was built hurriedly and was of poor qaulityHe told the court that he had written several letters to the Thane Municipal Corporation TMC against illegal construction in the area and blamed some of the then civic officials for inactionPatil deposed that the builders and TMC officials connived to carry out the buildings construction and let people occupy it even before its completion in order to save it from demolitionThe prosecution had filed a charge sheet running into thousands of pagesOf the more than 500 witnesses cited in the case only 52 have been examined so far by the prosecution a source saidSpecial Public Prosecutor Shishir Hirey had sought a special court to conduct daytoday hearing in the case but it has not happenedHirey had also urged the court to try all the accused under IPC Section 302 murder in view of the severity of the incidentHe had told the court that the accused played with the lives of the innocent citizens for which they need to face actionHirey had during the case hearings alleged there was a nexus between the builders and civic officials in the mushrooming unauthorised constructions in Mumbra and adjoining areasThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever