Builders and police arrested after India building collapse

Police in India have arrested nine people, including builders, police officers and municipality officials on suspicion of colluding to illegally construct a residential building that collapsed, killing 74 people.

Police commissioner KP Raghuvanshi said two builders were arrested for allegedly paying bribes to police and municipality officials to construct the eight-storey building in the Mumbai suburb of Thane without any official sanction.

The building came crashing down on Thursday in the country’s worst housing collapse in recent decades.

Mr Raghuvanshi said today that police will formally charge the nine with culpable homicide and causing death by negligence at the end of an investigation into the accident.

If convicted, they can be sentenced to up to life in prison.