A total of four people, including the owner, contractor and building planner were arrested by the Hyderabad police on Sunday for the tragic building collapse that killed 11 people.
The building owners T Satyanarayana Singh alias Sattu Singh, his son T Anil Kumar, contractor B Venu Gopal and civil engineer A Shivaram Krishna have been arrested, as per a Deccan Chronicle report.
A seven-storey under-construction building had collapsed in Nanakramguda on Thursday night.
All the victims were construction workers and their family members who were sleeping in cellar when the building crumbled.
Sattu Singh violated rules and paid a bribe to Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials, the report says.
Officials of the GHMC who allegedly took bribes, are set to be arrested in a day or two, according to a report in The New Indian Express.
“Sattu Singh and his two sons Anil and Sankesh, had constructed a seven-storey building in just 267 sq yards, on a plan drawn by engineer Shivarama Krishna of Guntur. The building is an illegal construction. Evidence suggests that bribe was given to some GHMC officials so that they do not create any trouble,” said the additional DCP.
The officer added that the load bearing capacity of the footing was compromised since the excavation done for the adjacent building was found to be very close to the footing.
The charges against Bengaluru-based Sumadhura Constructions, which carried out the deep excavation, are being investigated.
Police officials added that experts were scrutinising the structural design of the earlier buildings constructed by Satyanarayana and based on the reports, further action would be taken.