The crime branch on Thursday, 14 July, arrested the builder on charges of negligence in connection with the landslide incident in Vasai, Palghar, which claimed the lives of a father-daughter duo.
Anil Singh and his daughter Roshni Singh died after the brick wall and tin-roofed room of their house in the Mitwa Chawl collapsed.
Mantu Singh, the owner of Mitva realty company, was arrested by a team of Vasai Unit 02 (Crime Branch) from the Kandivali area of Mumbai, PTI reported.
Singh had been booked under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as sections 52, 53, and 54 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act (MRTP) Act, 1966 along with Mitva Realty representatives Ajit Raisaheb Singh and others.
"He had allegedly constructed the chawls in the locality and either rented it out or sold," the official of the Crime Unit-II of the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police said.
"Following the registration of the First Information Report (FIR), the police were on the lookout of the accused and arrested Mantu Singh from Kandivali based on a tip-off. Immediately after the incident, Singh had fled to Vapi in Gujarat and switched off his mobile before he finally returned to Kandivali," he added.
Police had registered two FIRs in connection with the incident. The second was registered against Mary Felix Gracias, Shailendra Nishad, Ratnesh D Pandey, and Anilkumar Dubey who have been charged with sections of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, 1966.
Rains Continue To Wreak Havoc
Disrupting normal life, the incessant rain has forced thousands of people to be evacuated and pushed many others into shelters.
The death toll in Maharashtra reached 102 on 15 July after three people died in the last 24 hours due to incessant rains, the State Disaster Management Authority said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, on 13 July, announced an ex-gratia sum of Rs 6 lakh each from the municipal corporation to the families of all those deceased due to the rains. Further, Rs 50,000 each will be given to the injured.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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