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Surat building collapse: FIR registered against three, including owners
The accused have been booked under various sections of the newly-enacted Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).
Surat Police on Sunday registered an FIR against three people, and arrested one of them, a day after a residential building collapsed in the city's Sachin Pali village, killing seven residents and injuring 15 others.
Building owners Raj Kakadiya, who is currently in the United States, and his mother, Ramilaben Kakdiya, have been named in the FIR, police inspector Jignesh Chaudhari said, adding that efforts are underway to name them.
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The arrested person is Ashwin Vekariya, who collected rent from the occupants,, Chaudhari stated.
The FIR has been registered under various sections of the newly-enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which came into effect on July 1, replacing the British-era Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The BNS sections invoked against the accused include 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).
What does the FIR say?
As per the FIR, the dilapidated building, which had six floors, was mostly vacant as most residents had left due to the danger the building posed. However, five flats remained occupied.
In April, the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) asked the owners to get the structure vacated due to its dilapidated condition; the residents, too, asked Vekariya to get the damages repaired but he allegedly told them that the owners will get it done the next year.
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The building was constructed in 2016-2017, Anupam Singh Gehlot, Commissioner of Police, Surat, said on Saturday.
Who are the victims?
The FIR identified the victims as Hiraman Kevat (40), Abhishek (35), Brijesh God (50), Shivpujan Kevat (26), Anmol Harijan (17), Parvesh Kevat (21), and Lalji Kevat (40).
Most of the deceased were textile workers from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
(With PTI inputs)
