Witness in 2013 Mumbra building crash that killed 74 deposes

A witness in the 2013 building collapse in Mumbra in which 74 people died, today told a court here, during his examination-in-chief, that he had written several letters to the Thane Municipal Corporation against illegal construction in the area.
The Adarsh Building, in Lucky Compound of Mumbra's Shil-Daighar area, came down crashing on April 4, 2013, killing 74 people and injuring over 60.
Mangal S Patil, deposing before district judge Vilas V Bambarde, in his examination in chief by special public prosecutor Shishir Hire, said there were several illegal structures coming up in the Shil-Daighar region, especially in Lucky compound, and he had pointed this out to senior civic officials several times.

He told the court the building, constructed by Jamil Qureshi, Salim Shaikh and their partners, was built hurriedly and was of poor qaulity.
He stated that civic officials Deepak Chavan, (DMC), Shyam Thorbole (AMC) and Babashaeb Andale (AMC) were responsible for their inaction.
Patil also identified letters written by him on February 7, March 7 and March 18 (all in 2013) as his own as well as the photographs of the building placed before the court.

Patil deposed that the builders and TMC officials connived to carry out the building's construction and let people occupy it even before its completion in order to save it from demolition.

Examination-in-chief, also called as Direct Examination, is the questioning of a witness under an oath by the party on whose call the witness has appeared.
As many as 27 people, including civic officials, builders and a policeman, have been named as accused in the case under relevant sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Defence counsels Baba Shaikh and Sudeep Pasbola, who are appearing for some of the accused, started their cross examination today and will continue the same tomorrow.