FIR against owner of building which collapsed near Mathura's Banke Bihari temple

An FIR has been registered against the owner of a building which collapsed near the Banke Bihari temple here recently, police said. Five people lost their lives in the incident.

A big chunk of a balcony of the building collapsed on devotees walking past it on Tuesday evening and as work was underway to rescue those trapped under the debris, a wall collapsed.

The FIR was lodged on Wednesday on charges of culpable homicide against Vishnu Sharma by Nagar Nigam Junior Engineer Yogendra Singh, police said.

Sharma said notices were issued to dilapidated buildings earlier but the owners did not comply with the orders.

With Vrindavan SHO Vijay Kumar Singh saying a couple of monkeys were fighting among themselves on the balcony when it collapsed, local BJP MLA Srikant Sharma has demanded the monkeys be translocated in a scientific manner.

In a letter to the district magistrate, Sharma suggested that a place be developed near the banks of the Yamuna river to move the monkeys.

District Magistrate (DM) Pulkit Khare said a three-member committee has been formed to probe the incident.

While ADM Vijai Shankar Pandey will head the probe team, the other members will be the executive engineer of the PWD and a police circle officer Sadar, Khare said, adding that the panel will survey dilapidated buildings and submit its report within a week.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of those killed in the incident and directed officials to ensure proper treatment of those injured.