MUMBAI BLAZE: OWNER OF PUB ARRESTED
MUMBAI: The Mumbai police on Saturday arrested Yug Pathak, co-owner of Mojo Bistro restaurant and son of former IPS officer KK Pathak, in connection with the blaze at Kamala Mills that killed 14 people on December 29.
The development comes a day after the fire brigade, in its preliminary report, said the blaze possibly started at Mojo Bistro.
“The fire originated at Mojo Bistro, which spread to neighbouring restaurant 1Above. Due to the illegal construction, which comprised highly inflammable materials, it spread quickly and the fire brigade was unable to contain it,” Virendra Mishra, deputy commissioner of police, zone 3, told HT.
It was the toilet at 1Above where the bodies were recovered after which the police had registered a case against its owners — Kripesh Sanghvi, Jigar Sanghvi and their partner Abhijit Mankar — who are on the run.
Investigations revealed that the survivors escaped through the exit built by Kamala Mills, but the exit of 1Above could not be seen due to barriers. “The exit at 1Above had three obstructions. Two of them were metal gates that obstructed the path to reach the exit, while objects were kept near the main exit. There was no signage and the toilet where people died was also illegal,” said Mishra.
Earlier in the day, the NM Joshi police had added the names of Mojo Bistro owners Pathak and Yug Tulli, 28, in the FIR registered for the fire. Both are booked under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others).
While Pathak will be produced before a holiday court on Sunday, the police are still looking for Tulli, a Nagpur-based hotelier.
FIRE AT FILM STUDIO IN MUMBAI , NO CASUALTY
A fire broke out at a film studio in suburban Kanjur Marg (West) on Saturday evening, police said.
The fire started at Cine Vista studio on LBS Road at 8pm, deputy commissioner of police (zone 7) Akhilesh Singh said. He added that there were no reports of anyone getting injured. The electrical wiring in the studio caught fire first, he said.