A five-storey under-construction building in a congested bylane in Garden Reach collapsed close to Sunday midnight, crushing at least nine people to death under its weight.
At least 13 people are in hospital with multiple injuries and more people could still lie buried under the debris at Azhar Molla Bagan.
Most of those killed or injured lived in adjoining shanties. Many of them were awake around midnight, getting ready for their early morning sehri.
The Calcutta Municipal Corporation said the building, in the Calcutta mayor’s own Assembly area, was illegal. It invites the question why the civic body woke up to the fact only after a tragedy.
The developer of the building has been arrested and charged with murder and other offences under the Indian Penal Code.
Joint commissioner (crime) Waquar Raza said a case had been started under the sections for murder, attempt to murder, negligent conduct in pulling down or repairing a building, mischief and common intention.
Eyewitnesses said they heard a loud crash and then the area was filled with “a lot of smoke”. What they thought was smoke was actually dust from the debris.
“No one lived in the building. There were a few masons who were on the terrace. Close to midnight, I heard a loud sound,” said a young man from the neighbourhood off Paharpur Road where the road is so narrow that even two two-wheelers would find it difficult to travel next to each other.
Civic engineers said they suspected substandard materials were being used.
A police officer said the developer, identified as Mohammad Wasim and locally known as Wasi, was in a rush to construct the top floor before finishing the ones below.
“The developer has said the owner of the plot was pressuring him for an early finish of the top floor and so the construction of that floor started before completing the floors below,” said an officer.
Some people in the locality said the building came up on what used to be a water body. Calcutta Municipal Corporation officials said they had no record of a water body there.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee visited the spot and instructed the administration to take strict action against the developer. Several families had more than one dead or injured.
The police said that among the deceased, Shama Begum, 44, Hasina Khatun, 55, and Nasir Ahmed, 59, were from the same family.
Another family had three of its members in hospital.
Musarath Jahan, 35, a homemaker has been admitted to SSKM hospital while her two children — Mohammad Rahaman, 7, and Khushi Parveen (also known as Joya Khatoon), 5, have been admitted to a private hospital near their home.
Mayor Hakim, who was at the site of the collapse to supervise the rescue operation on Monday morning, said action would be taken against the “officials” who should have detected the unauthorised construction. He defended the local councillor, saying he could not be held responsible for the illegal construction even though it is allegedly rampant in the area.
Many in the neighbourhood blamed the administration for allowing such a highrise building to have been erected in a congested locality.