One arrested, FIR registered against three in Bengaluru building collapse

An FIR has been registered at the Hennur Police Station against three named accused: Munirajareddy, Mohan Reddy, and Elumalai, following the collapse of an under-construction building in Bengaluru's Horamavu Agara area.

They face charges under various sections of the BNS and the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act. One of the accused, Bhuvan Reddy, who is the son of Munirajareddy, under whose name the building was being constructed, has also been arrested. The contractor, Muniyappa, who was responsible for constructing the four floors, has also been taken into custody, according to DCP East D Devaraja.

Regarding the incident, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar expressed his sorrow and commitment to preventing such tragedies in the future. "It is a very sad incident. I am sorry for them... I have instructed that wherever in Bengaluru there is construction going on without any proper license, all those things will be stopped. We are coming out to bring guidelines that everyone including those who have taken the license, should have their building well-certified occupancy certificate, or else action will be taken..," Shivakumar said.

Earlier in the day, via a post on X, the Deputy CM said, "Last night, I visited and inspected the site where the under-construction building collapsed, and the workers were trapped under the debris at Babusab Palya in Kammanahalli. It is a big crime to construct a building illegally in this way on 60/40 land. Apparently, the owner of the building is constructing the building without plan approval, and strict action will be taken against the culprits."

So far, five bodies have been recovered, identified as Harman (26), Tripal (35), Mohd Sahil (19), Sathya Raju (25), and Shankar. The injured individuals are Jagadevi (45), Rasheed (28), Nagaraju (25), Ramesh Kumar (28), Harman (22), and Ayaj.

Five of the injured are being treated at Bengaluru North Hospital, while one is at Hosmat Hospital. In total, 13 individuals have been rescued. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force ( NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force ( SDRF), along with dog squads, have been deployed at the site as the search continues for people trapped under the rubble.

Deputy CM Shivakumar further emphasised the need for stringent measures to prevent such incidents. "This incident is a lesson for us. To prevent such incidents from reoccurring in the future, it will be made mandatory to obtain permission for buildings, and a team will be deployed to monitor the buildings under construction," he said.