PANJIM: The Special Anti-Corruption Court will frame charges against the 11 accused in the Ruby Residency building collapse case by mid-June, as the bench held its first hearing on Thursday.
The accused, who include government officers, were given copies of the charge sheet when the matter came up for hearing on Thursday morning. The court thereafter adjourned the case to June 15, when the defence counsel sought time to put forth argument on the framing of charges.
The Crime Branch on March 20 had submitted a voluminous charge sheet containing 2,600 pages before the special court after more than a year of the tragedy that killed 31 labourers.
All the 11 accused, including eight senior government officials, one contractor and two builders have been charged under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others), 337 (causing hurt), 338 (causing grievous hurt), 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, sections 7 and 13 (1) (A) and (B) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, and section 17 (A) of the Town and Country Planning Act.
Two former directors of Bharat Developers and Realtors Pvt Ltd, Pradip Singh Birring and Jagdeep Kumar Seghal, who were on the run for more than a year, were arrested in Vashi (Mumbai) on January 16, this year.
