Showroom didn't carry out alterations

Officials of the FortPoint Automotive, which had a showroom on the ground floor of Altaf Mansion that collapsed three days ago, claim they have not made any alteration to the property since they bought it in 2004.

After a part of the building collapsed on Monday night injuring several and killing 10, many residents of Cadell Road alleged it was the result of illegal alterations made by the car showroom on the ground floor and in the basement. The building, which is near Mahim Dargah, housed well-known criminal lawyer Rizwan Merchant and his family, three of whom died in the collapse.

FortPoint Automotive’s official spokesperson Aba Patil said, “We procured the property in 2004 and the structure has been exactly the same since. We have not illegally carried out any alterations or removed any pillars; the basement, too, had been there from the start. I have all the building papers.”

The 29-year-old building was not eligible for a structural audit; a building needs to be 30 years old or more to be audited. Despite the residents’ allegations, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said it hadn’t received any such complaints before. Civic officials, however, said they will find out whether the building collapsed due to illegal alterations or inferior building material as it was not too old.

The BMC has all the building’s documents and has identified the architects, builders and developers. It has started investigating and found that the portion between the first and ground floors had given way first leading to the collapse. Officials have enlisted a structural auditor’s help.