Deadly Building Collapse in India Caused by Illegal Alterations, Police Say<br />By GEETA ANANDJULY 26, 2017<br />MUMBAI, India — The Mumbai police on Wednesday arrested a man affiliated with a local political party, accusing him of making illegal alterations to the ground floor of a five-story building<br />that caused it to collapse a day earlier, killing at least 17 people and injuring a dozen others.<br />Mr. Bharti said the police believed that Mr. Shitap had been making illegal alterations to the ground floor<br />of the building, where he operated a nursing home, in Ghatkopar, an area east of the city center.<br />Relatives of the victims and other residents of the building said Mr. Shitap was affiliated with Shiv Sena, a local party.<br />Deven Bharti, joint commissioner of the Mumbai police, said charges of culpable homicide<br />and endangering the lives of others had been filed against the man, Sunil Shitap.<br />Most residents owned their apartments, and many were in the upper four floors when the building collapsed about<br />10:45 a.m. Mr. Shitap, who is in police custody, could not be reached for comment Wednesday morning.
