As of Saturday morning, four more people have been rescued from the debris in the building collapse which took place in Dharwad. Speaking to TNM, Hubli-Dharwad Commissioner of Police MN Nagaraju confirmed that another four persons were rescued.
The four rescued on Friday have been identified as 24-year-old Sangamesh Ramanagouda, a native of Belagavi; 40-year-old Dileep Kokare and his wife 35-year-old Sangeetha Kokare; and 45-year-old labourer Honamma from Bellary.
Meanwhile, the retrieval of two more bodies took the death toll to 14. The deceased have been identified as 68-year-old Subbanna Neeralakatti and Anup Kudtarkar, who was the son of the owner of the cyber cafe which crumbled under the impact. Both hailed from Dharwad.
“We are not sure how many people are still trapped underneath, and are working round the clock towards rescue efforts. Around 56 to 60 people have been rescued so far,” the Police Commissioner said.
According to police, one of the owners of the building, Gangappa Shintri, the father-in-law of former Dharwad Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni, had invested money to construct a commercial complex in the area.
Vivek Pawar, the architect and the owners of the building, Ravi Basavaraj Sabarad, Basavaraj D Nigadi, Gangappa S Shintri and Mahabaleshwar Puradagudi, surrendered to the police late on Thursday night.
They have been booked under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 338 (Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life) of the IPC.
Police officials earlier confirmed to TNM that the accused have sought anticipatory bail. Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy had reacted to the situation and stated that strict action would be taken if the accident was deemed to have occurred due to negligence or foul play on the part of any official.