No FIR yet in Mahim bldg collapse

Many eyebrows have been raised since no First Information Report (FIR) has been registered till now in the Altaf Mansion collapse case.            

Amidst reports of the complaint made by lawyer Rizwan Merchant about illegal alterations in the building, the civic officials said that it has not received any complaint about the illegal alterations in the building.  

However, legal experts say that the police must register a case about such an incident. “Since people have died in the incident, it becomes a police case. Ideally, the police should register a case against unknown persons for rash and negligent act,” said YP Singh, IPS officer turned lawyer.   

Singh added that the police can then initiate investigations into the matter. “The accused can be identified later on and legal action can be initiated against them,” said Singh.   
Officials from the Mahim police station admitted that no case has been registered yet.

“We have registered a report of 10 accidental deaths and have asked for the relevant documents of the building from BMC and the registrar’s office. Once we receive those, we may register a case. But the decision will be taken collectively,” said Avinash Sonawane, senior inspector of Mahim police station.