The death toll in the Kolkata warehouse collapse rose to 11 on Thursday even as West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari reiterated his claim that corruption during the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) government was responsible for the incident.
Meanwhile, police arrested five people, including warehouse owner Shambhu Nath Behera. The other detainees are Gulzar Hussain, the project supervisor, Kamal Samanta, the frame builder, Dibkar Samanta, the labor supplier, and Abdul Hamid, the middleman who approved the project.
On Wednesday, an under-construction four-storey warehouse in Taratala, southwest Kolkata, collapsed around 12.07 pm, prompting authorities to launch a massive rescue operation.
At least 25 people had been rescued as of Wednesday evening.
After the incident, the Chief Minister said the building was faulty and his plan might have been passed by the TMC-controlled Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) in exchange for money.
“We have found all the records. What happened is a result of your sins. You approved this construction plan on January 17 this year. By taking money, you have turned the city of joy and greater Kolkata into a city of death. A lot of buildings have collapsed and people have died but you have not learned the lesson,” Adhikari told the rebellious TMC lawmakers whom the Speaker considered the official opposition party.
In his speech before the Council on Thursday, the Prime Minister announced compensation $10 thousand for each of the deceased’s family $1 lakh for the injured admitted to SSKM Government Hospital. The Prime Minister’s Office separately announced compensation $2 lakh to the relatives of the deceased and $50,000 for the injured.
Adhikari attacked the TMC, naming three KMC engineers and former mayor Firhad Hakim’s personal assistant, Kalichran Banerjee, referring to him as ‘Kali’.
“It was found that Aminur Shaikh, assistant engineer, Nirmalindu Sardar, assistant engineer, and Ranjan Das, executive engineer, did not perform their duties in relation to the buildings,” Adhikari said.
Without mentioning Al-Hakim’s name, Adhikari said: “Look how you approved a flawed plan even though it shows a structural flaw. The plan bears the signature of the former mayor.” The KMC has been managed by its commissioner Smita Pandey, an IAS officer, since then.
“There is no chance of leaving anyone unpunished. We will not allow any building to be built without scrutiny,” the Prime Minister said and announced the formation of an audit committee. He added: “We have arrested five people so far.”
The Special Investigation Unit of Kolkata Police arrested Kalichran Banerjee, former personal assistant of Farhad Hakim, for questioning on Thursday.
Al-Hakim claimed that he had no idea that the building plan had been approved, even though the clearance certificate bore his signature. He told the media: “I have created many systems to punish construction plans. As far as I know, this is not illegal. It (the collapse) happened due to a lack of supervision. As mayor I did not supervise the projects or inspect the materials used. I am not an engineer.”
Kolkata Police filed a suo motu FIR at Taratala police station on Wednesday under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 3 (5) (joint criminal liability) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Kunal Agrawal said at a press conference.
