Mumbai | Is Sunil Shitap the one behind Ghatkopar building collapse?

It was on Monday evening that the residents of Sai Siddhi building went to Sunil Shitap and requested him to not carry out renovation work of the nursing home as the building had started to tremble. "He simply showed us his revolver and told them that he knew how to use it. Scared, the residents left quietly," sources told DNA. Now, there is hardly anyone left to complain.

Shitap's story is a typical rags-to-riches kind, except that his rise had not been achieved by legal means, people say. His wife, Swati, contested the civic polls in 2016 with a Shiv Sena ticket, but stood third with Archana Bhalerao of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena winning the polls. Shitap may not have been an official Sena member himself, but he helped the party in its activities at the local level.

Born to a father who played tasha (a local percussion instrument), Shitap did odd jobs including that of delivering newspapers and hit pay dirt through local cable network. Slowly he expanded his so-called business activities and was soon known as the "badshah" of illegal constructions in the neighbourhood. He is said to own at least three restaurants and is also a director of a few listed companies. As part of his local political activities, Shitap used to organise local pilgrimage tours for the neighbourhood residents and often took them to Ekvira temple near Lonavla. "He hails from the Konkan region and was a strong leader in an otherwise Gujarati-dominated Ghatkopar," said a Sena leader who did not wish to be named.

Shitap had purchased three of the five flats on the ground floor of Sai Siddhi and turned it into a nursing home three years ago. Amalgamation of these flats was done without any permission from the BMC. Two months ago, he decided to turn it into a guest house - again without permissions. Sena leaders, however, claim he was merely renovating the nursing home.

"The building was constructed in 1982 and was not considered as dangerous. He made structural changes to flats, even the usage was changed from residential to commercial. Removing pillars turned out to be the last straw," said a civic official requesting anonymity.