Surat building collapse death toll rises to 7; FIR against owners, 1 person held
Surat (PTI): The death toll in the collapse of a six-storey building in Gujarat's Surat city has gone up to seven with the recovery of six more bodies overnight, police said on Sunday.
A person who collected rent from the building occupants has been arrested and he and two owners of the structure have been booked on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, they said.
The residential building, which was in a dilapidated condition and located in the Pal area, collapsed at around 2.45 pm on Saturday, as per the police.
A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), two teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police personnel and fire brigade were involved in the rescue operation, the Surat police said in statement.
After around three hours of operation, they managed to rescue a 20-year-old woman, named Kashish Sharma, and rushed her to the hospital for treatment.
The body of a man was pulled out on Saturday night, an official earlier said.
Rescue teams later pulled out six more bodies from the debris, according to police.
Seven bodies were recovered from the debris in the operation that continued through the night, Sachin GIDC police station inspector Jignesh Chaudhari said.
The deceased, most of them textile workers from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, have been identified as Hiraman Kevat (40), Abhishek (35), Brijesh God (50), Shivpujan Kevat (26), Anmol Harijan (17), Parvesh Kevat (21), and Lalji Kevat (40), the statement said.
An FIR has been registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections, including 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), against the building owners Raj Kakadiya and his mother Ramilaben Kakadiya, and one Ashwin Vekariya, who collected rent from the occupants, inspector Chaudhari said.
Vekariya has been arrested and efforts are underway to nab the two other accused, he said.
Raj Kakadiya is currently in the US, as per the police.
As per the FIR, the dilapidated building was mostly vacant as the earlier occupants had left due to the danger it posed. A few families, however, continued to live there on rent.
On April 26 this year, the Surat Municipal Corporation issued a notice to the building's owner to get it vacated due to its dilapidated condition, the FIR stated.
The building's occupants repeatedly requested Vekariya to carry out repair works for damages caused to the structure but he told them the owners had refused it and they will get it done next year, it claimed.
The building was constructed in 2016-17, Surat Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot said on Saturday.
Around five flats were occupied, mostly by those who work in factories in the area, he said.
An NDRF official said the rescue operation concluded by around 9 am on Sunday.
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Air Marshal Seethepalli Shrinivas assumes charge as IAF AOC-in-C, training command
Bengaluru (PTI): Air Marshal Seethepalli Shrinivas took over as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Training Command, Indian Air Force on Thursday.
An alumnus of National Defence Academy, Air Marshal Shrinivas was commissioned in the fighter stream of IAF on 13 June 1987, an official statement said.
Air Marshal Shrinivas is a ‘Category A' Qualified Flying Instructor with over 4,200 hours of flying experience on MiG-21, Iskra, Kiran, PC-7 Mk II, HPT-32 and Microlite amongst other aircraft.
The AOC-in-C is also qualified as a second pilot on Chetak / Cheetah helicopter and a categorised Operations Officer on the Pechora missile system.
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The Air Marshal has held a number of command appointments in his career.
He has been the Commandant of the Air Force Academy, Air Officer Commanding (AOC) of a frontline fighter base on the Western border, and a premier flying training base, AOC Advance HQ Western Air Command (Jaipur), Commanding Officer of the prestigious Flying Instructors’ School, Commandant of the Institute of Aerospace Safety and CO of Basic Flying Training School.
His staff and other appointments include Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Personnel Officers), Chief Instructor (Flying) at Air Force Academy, Ops Staff at HQ Central Air Command and Directing Staff at College of Air Warfare. Prior to his current assignment, he was the Senior Air Staff Officer at HQ SWAC.
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Air Marshal Shrinivas is a graduate of National Defence College, College of Defence Management and Defence Services Staff College. His educational qualifications include Master of Philosophy in Defence and Strategic Studies, Master of Management Studies and Master of Science in Defence and Strategic Studies.
In recognition of his meritorious services, he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2017 and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2024 by the President of India.
After assumption of his new appointment, the Air Marshal paid homage to bravehearts by laying a wreath at the Training Command War Memorial.
