MUMBAI: Mehboob
Ali Qureshi, a 58-year-old Jogeshwari resident arrested for illegal alterations in
Bhatia Society on Princess Street, has been a repairs contractor for 30 years. He has also been on the
BMC panel for 10 years as a contractor. Tenants of Bhatia Society had complained about cracks in the building, also known as Sitaram Sadan, caused by illegal digging of the floor of a vacant ground-floor flat and damage to the plinth and iron beams of the building.
Qureshi was arrested in the morning and produced before a court, which remanded him in police custody till April
3. Landlord Shailesh Agarwal was arrested in the evening and would be produced before a court on Thursday.
Residents of Bhatia Society had lodged a complaint with the
LT Marg police station against Qureshi and Agarwal, a
Malabar Hill resident, and his relatives Suresh Agarwal and his wife, besides one more person, for illegally digging up a portion of the four-storey stone building and placing tenants’ lives in danger.
Investigators said it would take them some time to gather information on the matter as they had just taken Agarwal in custody.
“We are questioning Qureshi as to who had instructed him to dig up illegally,” an officer said. “We are also probing if there was any architect or engineer who examined the building before or during the digging work.”
On Monday, the Bombay high court had directed Shailesh Agarwal to deposit Rs 60 lakh towards restoration cost of the illegally dug up portion. The court passed the order after the tenants of the building approached it. The BMC had also lodged a complaint with the police under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning (MRTP) Act.
TIMES VIEW : Great cities are built on the foundation of adherence to rules. In the case of illegal alterations at Bhatia Society, the police and other authorities failed to act decisively till the courts cracked the whip. Authorities must realise that such delays have cost lives in the past and they must clean up their act.
Picture for representational purpose only.
