Days after the portion of a building collapsed in Virar area of Palghar district, the death toll has risen to 17.
According to reports, a section of the Ramabai Apartment, a four-storey building in Virar East, Palghar district, collapsed late Tuesday night, August 26.
In an immediate effect to this, a 47-year-old builder Nital Gopinath Sane was arrested after a building collapsed in Maharashtra’s Virar East on Tuesday night after the VVMC lodged a complaint against him.
A case has also been registered against the landowner. The charges included violations under sections 52, 53, and 54 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act and section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The structure, declared 'illegal' by the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC), came crashing down at 12.05 am.
During the rescue operations conducted by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), several were rescued, and some sustained injuries. Rescue operations have continued for more than 20 hours.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed two teams from its 5th battalion to the site.
Among those killed were members of the Jovil family, who were celebrating a one-year-old girl’s birthday when a part of the building collapsed, killing the girl, Utkarsha, and her mother, Arohi.
The deceased have been identified as Omkar Jovil, 25; his wife Arohi Omkar Jovil, 24; their daughter Uttkarsha Jovil, 1; Laxman Kisku Singh, 26; Dinesh Prakash Sakpal, 43; Sachin Newadkar, 40; and his wife Supriya Nivadkar, 38; and their Arnav Nivadkar, 11; Parvati Sakpal, 60; Dipesh Soni, 41; Harish Singh Bist, 34; Sonali Rupesh Tejam, 41; Deepak Singh Bohra, 25; Kashish Pawan Saheni, 35; Subhangi Pawan Saheni, 40; Govind Singh Rawat, 28; and Rohini Chavan, who was nearly 52 years old.