Thane: Poor quality construction spanning 13 years and unauthorised repair work that damaged the building’s structural pillars led to the collapse of a wing at Kohinoor Apartment in Gangaramwadi, New Tavare Compound, Bhiwandi, killing 10 people and injuring three others, following which police booked the building owner and the repair contractor for negligence. The building came down sometime between 11.20pm on July 30 and 5pm on July 31, trapping several residents under the debris as they slept.Police said the B Wing of the building had deteriorated rapidly despite being barely 13 years old, owing to extremely poor construction quality. The structure had been built without any sanctioned plans or approvals from the Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation, and had reportedly been flagged as structurally unsound by civic authorities on more than one occasion. The owner, identified as Bilal Ahmed Abubakar Khan, a Mumbai resident, allegedly ignored repeated notices warning that the building was unsafe for habitation, and made no effort to evacuate tenants despite being fully aware of the risk to their lives.Investigators said the immediate trigger for the collapse was unauthorised repair work carried out without civic permission in the days leading up to the incident. A contractor identified only as Ashok allegedly undertook structural repairs with gross negligence, compromising and damaging load-bearing pillars on the lower floors, which directly caused the structure to give way and cave in on itself.Among the deceased were residents aged between 30 and 48 years, most of them daily-wage workers and their family members who lived on rent in the building. Three others, aged between 24 and 36 years, were pulled out with injuries and are undergoing treatment. Rescue teams, aided by disaster response units, worked through the night clearing debris in search of survivors before the operation was formally called off.An FIR was registered at Bhoiwada police station following a complaint by an assistant commissioner overseeing unauthorised construction at the municipal corporation. Cases have been filed against the building owner and the contractor under the relevant sections.The FIR was registered on the complaint of an assistant commissioner from the municipal corporation’s unauthorised constructions department. Police invoked Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), Sections 125(a) and 125(b) (acts endangering life and causing hurt), and Section 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Sections 52 and 53 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act relating to unauthorised construction.Bhiwandi police have launched a manhunt to trace Bilal Ahmed Abubakar Khan. A police team was sent to his Mumbai residence to apprehend him, but he is believed to be abroad. Investigators are now gathering details of his travel and are exploring legal options to secure his return. The contractor, Ashok, who has also been booked in the case, is suspected to have died, though police officials said they are yet to officially verify and confirm reports of his death.Police said further investigation is underway to establish the full extent of negligence by both the owner and the contractor, and to examine whether municipal officials failed to act on earlier complaints about the building’s dangerous condition. “We have sought the documents of the building and its land from the concerned authorities,” said Vikram Mohite, senior inspector of Bhoiwada police station.Originally from Madhubani district of Bihar, Ram Vilas Ram, a survivor of the Bhiwandi building collapse, recalled that he noticed a crack in the building around 8.30 pm, after which someone placed a temporary support under a pillar. Around 11.20 pm, just as he was about to sit down for dinner at his rented apartment on fourth floor, with his wife and two children, the building suddenly collapsed. Fearing for their lives, he wrapped his family in a thick blanket as a section of the structure came crashing down in front of them, leaving them stranded and unable to move.In a desperate attempt to attract attention, Ram switched on the torch of his mobile phone, which was spotted by rescue personnel, leading to the family’s safe evacuation. ,Ram said he has been working in Bhiwandi’s powerloom sector since 1994. Following the collapse, he and his family are staying at a nearby temple, where locals are providing them with food and other basic necessities.
