Dharwad building collapse: Karnataka suspends 7 municipal corporation officials for negligence

Bengaluru: Karnataka government on Saturday suspended seven officials of Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation for negligence in connection with the building collapse that claimed lives of at least 15 people.

The four-storeyed under construction building collapsed on Tuesday evening at Dharwad's Kumareshwaranagar.

A magisterial inquiry has been ordered by Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. 

More than 400 personnel including members of NDRF, SDRF, police and Revenue Department are jointly undertaking the rescue operation.

A day after the collapse, an FIR was lodged against five people. The accused include owners of the building Basavraj Nigadi, Ravi Sabrad, Mahabaleshwar Puradgudi and Gangappa Shintre and an engineer Vivek Pawar.

The accused engineer was later arrested from Kolhapur in Maharashtra while the four partners of Renuka Construction surrendered before the police.