Ahmedabad, February 8
Five days after the Shakunt Hotel collapsed, Gaurang Jani, the proprietor of the said property applied for an anticipatory bail before Additional Sessions Judge P R Patel on Friday. Six other persons Yasim Patel, Younis Patel, Zahira Patel, Rahima Patel, Salim Patel and Mohmaad Abdul Patel, all part of the Moti Mahal Group and the owners of the plot adjacent to the hotel, have also applied for anticipatory bail. Experts have attributed the excavation work in the empty plot adjacent to the hotel as the possible reason for its collapse.
In an FIR, the Kalupur police had booked all the six owners of the plot and Gaurang Jani for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. The disaster on the morning of February 3 left 16 people dead and several injured.
The hearing on the anticipatory bail application for all the accused will take place on February 12.
