BANGALORE: Kattada Karmikara Hitharakshana Kriya Samiti activist S Venkataswamy on Monday urged the government to constitute a fact-finding committee headed by a retired judge to probe into the recent building collapse at Hoody in Whitefield.
Venkataswamy alleged that when ‘Prestige Shantiniketan’ collapsed on October 23 nearly 140 people were working in the building and some of them might have been trapped under the debris.
“The debris is yet to be cleared and a foul stench has been emanating from the debris. Therefore, there is every possibility of some people being trapped under the debris,” he said.
Further he alleged that the Prestige Grou p, the builders of Shantiniketan, are doing every possible thing to close the case and are falsely claiming that nobody was killed in the building collapse.
Kumara Samathala of Karnataka Janapara Vedike, who was also present at the conference, claimed that watchman Shivanna, an eye witness to the building collapse, had died under mysterious circumstances. “The police claim that he died in a rail accident, but it doesn’t seem to be so. He was killed to destroy the evidences”, he alleged.
Samathala threatened to organise a protest rally this month end if the factfinding committee is not constituted.
Human rights activist Hasan Mansur was present.