Kolkata: The Bharatiya Janata Mazdoor Cell (BJMC) has lodged a police complaint seeking registration of an FIR against former Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim and ex-councillors Anwar Khan and Shams Iqbal, alleging their role in permitting illegal constructions that allegedly led to recent building and warehouse collapses in the city, a senior police officer said.
The complaint was submitted by the BJMC, South Kolkata district, at Taratala police station Thursday in the wake of the warehouse collapse on Transport Depot Road in Taratala that claimed at least 16 lives, he said.
In its complaint, the organisation alleged that repeated incidents of building and warehouse collapses in the Kolkata Port area were the result of unauthorised constructions, gross negligence and possible criminal conspiracy. It sought a detailed probe into the role of Hakim, Anwar Khan and Shams Iqbal, former councillors of ward numbers 80 and 134, respectively.
The complainant also demanded the immediate registration of an FIR, identification of all those responsible for the alleged illegal constructions, and legal action against the three individuals in accordance with the law. It further urged authorities to inspect similar unsafe structures in the area to prevent future tragedies.
A senior Kolkata Police officer confirmed receipt of the complaint but said no FIR had been registered so far.
We have received the written complaint, and it is under examination. The allegations made in the petition will be verified in accordance with established legal procedure. Appropriate action, if warranted, will be taken on the basis of the inquiry, the officer told PTI.
He said the filing of a complaint did not automatically result in the registration of an FIR and that police were scrutinising the contents of the petition before taking a decision.
Copies of the complaint have also been marked to several authorities, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The repeated loss of innocent lives due to illegal and unsafe constructions cannot be treated as isolated accidents. We have sought registration of an FIR and a fair investigation to identify everyone responsible for permitting such structures and ensure strict legal action against them, complainant M B Mahesh, president of the South Kolkata district unit of the Bharatiya Janata Mazdoor Cell, told PTI.
At least 16 people have died, and around 17 are being treated at the state-run SSKM Medical College and Hospital as rescuers from multiple agencies were conducting search operations at the site where a warehouse collapsed on Wednesday afternoon. Five people directly linked to the construction works and an official, Hakim’s Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Kalicharan Bandyopadhyay, have been arrested in the matter.
Following the order of the state government, a Special Investigating Team (SIT) has been formed by the Kolkata Police, which is probing the accident.