Riots take toll on quake cases
Investigations into the earthquake related cases took a back seat with the city police busy maintaining law and order, controlling the riots, investigating riot related cases and later being engaged in the election duty in 2002.

Police has still not been able to arrest over 130 persons named in the FIRs and wanted for various cases of negligence and fraud in connection with the collapse of buildings during earthquake on January 26, 2001.

It may be recalled that most cases of building collapse occurred in the western parts of the city while in the eastern side, it was only the posh locality of Maninagar that was affected. The buildings, which came down were newly constructed and the those constructed more than a decade ago, were not highly affected by the massive earthquake.

Most cases related to building collapses were filed in Ellisbridge police station, Satellite police station, Maninagar police station and Navrangpura police station. Besides complaints filed in these police stations, at least half of the offenders are still at large.

Commenting about the investigations of the cases, commissioner of police K.R. Kaushik said, that all the offenders will be arrested and brought to book. He accepted that there has been some delay in the investigations due to the riots in 2002 in which the city police was predominantly engaged.

Actually, after the riots, hundreds of riot related cases have been filed and police officers are investigating these cases along with all their regular duties like bandobast and VIP security, said a reliable police source. In fact half the time, the police has to provide police bandobast for various events and dignitaries, which leaves them with very little time for investigations, he said.

Meanwhile, several Auda and AMC employees who are named in the FIR have not yet been arrested by the police and the AMC and the Auda has not taken action against them.

Most of the police inspectors of various police stations cite the riots and the elections as the main reason for the delay in the investigations related to building collapse

Republished from The Asian Age