Indonesian rescuers search for missing students after school collapse kills 37
Sidoarjo (AP): Indonesian rescuers are searching on Sunday for missing students after a prayer hall at an Islamic boarding school collapsed almost a week ago. They have recovered 23 bodies over the weekend search, bringing the death toll to 37.
Using jackhammers, circular saws and sometimes their bare hands, rescue teams diligently removed rubble in an attempt to find the 26 missing students.
The structure fell on top of hundreds of students, mostly boys between the ages of 12 and 19, on September 30 at the century-old Al Khoziny school in Sidoarjo on the eastern side of Indonesia's Java island. Only one student escaped unscathed, authorities said, while 95 were treated for various injuries and released. Eight others suffered serious wounds and remained hospitalised Sunday.
Police said two levels were added to the two-story building without a permit, leading to structural failure. This has triggered widespread anger over illegal construction in Indonesia.
“The construction couldn't support the load while the concrete was pouring (to build) the third floor because it didn't meet standards and the whole 800 square metres construction collapsed,” said Mudji Irmawan, a construction expert from Tenth November Institute of Technology.
Irmawan also said students shouldn't have been allowed inside a building under construction.
Sidoarjo district chief, Subandi, confirmed what the police had announced: The school's management had not applied for the required permit before starting construction.
“Many buildings, including traditional boarding school extensions, in non-urban areas were built without a permit," Subandi, who goes by a single name, told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Indonesia's 2002 Building Construction code states that permits have to be issued by the relevant authorities prior to any construction, or else face fines and imprisonment. If a violation causes death, this can lead to up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to 8 billion rupiah (nearly USD500,000).
The school's caretaker is Abdus Salam Mujib, a respected Islamic cleric in East Java. He offered a public apology in a rare appearance a day after the incident.
“This is indeed God's will, so we must all be patient, and may God replace it with goodness, with something much better. We must be confident that God will reward those affected by this incident with great rewards,” he said.
Criminal investigations involving Muslim clerics remain sensitive in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation.
There has been no comment from school officials since the collapse.
“We will investigate this case thoroughly,” East Java Police Chief Nanang Avianto said Sunday. “Our investigation also requires guidance from a team of construction experts to determine whether negligence by the school led to the deaths.”
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SC seeks ED's response on journalist's bail plea in money laundering case
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file its response within three days on a bail plea of journalist Mahesh Langa in a money laundering case linked to an alleged financial fraud.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi also asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the jailed journalist, to file rejoinder, if needed, to the ED's response within two days of it being filed.
The top court fixed the case for further hearing on December 15.
During the brief hearing on Monday, Sibal said a journalist has been facing as many as six cases.
"The journalist is accused of extortion," the counsel for the ED said and sought a short adjournment on the ground that Solicitor General Tuhar Mehta was unavailable at the moment.
The top court on September 8 sought responses from the Gujarat government and the ED on Langa's bail plea.
While issuing the notices on Langa's bail plea, the bench asked, "What kind of a journalist is he?"
"With due respect, there are some very genuine journalists. But there are also people who on their scooter say we are 'patrakar' (journalists) and what they actually do everybody knows," the bench told Sibal.
Sibal replied that these are all allegations.
"In one FIR, he gets anticipatory bail, then a second FIR is lodged and again anticipatory bail is granted but now he is booked under a third FIR for income tax evasion. There are other things also against him," Sibal submitted.
He added that there is a background to the case also.
On July 31, the Gujarat High Court rejected Langa's bail plea in the money laundering case on the grounds that if released on bail, prejudice would be caused to the prosecution case.
On February 25, the ED said it arrested Langa in a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged financial fraud.
He was first arrested in October 2024 in a GST fraud case.
The money laundering case against Langa stems from two FIRs filed by Ahmedabad police on charges of fraud, criminal misappropriation, criminal breach of trust, cheating and causing wrongful loss of lakhs of rupees to certain people.
