The tilted Behala building and the pillar (circled) that developed cracks in the middle last Tuesday. Picture by Tamaghna Banerjee

A realtor was arrested on Wednesday along with his architect and an employee after a five-storey building in Behala being built by his firm tilted within a week of being approved by an authorised surveyor.

The incident at 303 SN Roy Road raises questions not only about the stability of many such “dream homes” being built across town but also the standard of construction surveillance by the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, which charges a supervision fee for every building.

Anu Burman, one of the partners of Capricorn Group, was picked up from the project site in Behala in the morning on the basis of a complaint by residents of the area and charged with negligence under Section 288 of the IPC. He was granted bail along with the other two accused later in the day.

Police did not provide the names of the arrested architect and the third accused till late on Wednesday. A senior police officer of South 24-Parganas said he would have to “check with Behala police to confirm the names”. Officers at Behala police station refused to explain why they were unable — or unwilling — to reveal the names.

Capricorn Twins in Behala is an HIG project where a three-bedroom flat with a super built-up area of 1,188sq ft costs around Rs 40 lakh with parking space. At least 16 of the 20 flats in the twin-tower project have been already booked.

“We were supposed to move into our fourth-floor flat in September. I am worried about my money now. My flat cost me around Rs 35 lakh a year and a half ago and I have paid almost 90 per cent of the price, which constitutes my life’s savings,” said Om Prakash Gupta, 67.

Gupta lives in a rented house in Sakherbazar.

Doctor Madhuri Ranjan Biswas, who has booked a first-floor flat in the building that has become the Leaning Tower of Behala, said she would be afraid to stay there even if the authorities allowed the structure to remain.

“A cracked pillar stands right beneath my flat. Even if they repair it, can anyone guarantee that it won’t crumble again?” she wondered.

Biswas can’t be blamed for feeling more vulnerable than residents of highrises in quake-prone Japan, where most buildings withstood tremors of 8.9 magnitude on the Richter scale last Friday.

Workers staying in the under-construction building were the first to notice the cracks in the middle of the pillar on Tuesday night.

“They heard a cracking sound and felt the building tilt as they ran down the stairs,” a police officer said.

The promoters — three persons have a stake in the project — tried to prop up the building with iron beams but residents of the area got wind of it and informed the CMC. “Construction was stopped immediately and the workers evicted,” the officer said.

Mayor Sovan Chatterjee, who lives not far from SN Roy Road, surveyed the tilted building on Tuesday night.

Civic body officials announced in his presence that they would demolish the building, only to learn a few hours later that the structure had been certified “safe” by their surveyor on March 8.

The structural stability certificate issued by S.R. Bhattacharya, a former head of the department of civil engineering at Jadavpur University, states: “The foundation and structure of the existing building has been checked by me considering all possible vertical and horizontal loading and the materials used as well as the workmanship employed. The building is certified safe and stable in all respect.”

So why did the pillar cave in? “After the inspection, the promoters illegally started adding to the structure,” said Debashis Kar, the CMC’s director-general of buildings.

The police complaint filed by the CMC mentions Bhattacharya and his son Chandan, the surveyor appointed by the promoters.

Mayor Chatterjee said a team from Bengal Engineering and Science University (Besu) would evaluate the safety of the building. “We cannot demolish the building right now as it has a sanctioned plan. We will act on the basis of Besu’s report.”

A spokesperson for Capricorn Group promised to provide the affected customers with “fresh flats in other projects”.