Kanpur building collapse: FIR filed against owner and SP leader Mehtab Alam, contractor
At least 30 people are still believed to be trapped in the debris, as rescue workers try to trace survivors and bodies.
The Kanpur Police have registered a First Information Report against Samajwadi Party leader Mehtab Alam, who owned the under-construction building that collapsed on Wednesday and killed at least six people. The contractor has also been named in the report, according to ANI. Alam and his family are now on the run.
The government has also suspended five Kanpur Development Authority officials in connection with the incident. The National Disaster Response Force is still working to find people who are believed to be trapped in the debris. NDRF staff Alok Singh said around 30 people are still buried in the rubble. “The operation will take time because of the structure of the apartment,” he told ANI on Thursday.
In an overnight operation, rescue workers, including Indian Army officials, have been trying to trace survivors and bodies in the debris, using special cameras, earthmovers and gas cutters. A 3-year-old girl was pulled out from the debris 12 hours after the six-storey building collapsed in Kanpur’s Jajmau locality, NDTV reported. The victims were mostly labourers from Chhattisgarh and their families.
The Kanpur Development Authority said they had issued three notices to the builders and asked for construction to be stopped as the necessary permits had not been obtained. Preliminary investigation suggests that the structure collapsed because of a weak foundation.