The Free Press Journal

1 Above in blame game with Mojo's

- STAFF REPORTER

Pub 1 Above, where 14 people were killed, said the blaze started from the adjoining property and claimed it had all the necessary approvals and safety norms in place. It also blamed Mojo's Bistro on the floor below for not having an emergency exit, leading to overcrowdi­ng of 1 Above's escape avenues.

The pub, co-owned by brothers Hitesh and Jigar Sanghvi and Abhijeet Manka, was gutted in the fire. All three partners were untraceabl­e when reports last trickled in. Search parties are scouring for them.

The pub is run by C Grade Hospitalit­y. Blaming an adjoining property for the fire, 1 Above management said, "According to our staff, a fire began to emanate from the adjacent quarters to our premises." It did not name the property from where the fire started. However, it named and blamed Mojo's Bistro for not having an emergency exit, which led to their guests thronging to 1 Above's emergency exit. Mojo's Bistro was also destroyed in the blaze but no lives were lost.

"We believe all their guests were told to go through our premises as we have an emergency exit," the 1 Above statement said. "1Above has all its fire safety regulation­s, licences, procedures and norms in place. We've been able to help save many lives thanks to our fire safety protocols," the statement claimed.

The pub claimed that that it conducts quarterly fire safety and crisis management training. It has over 10 fire extinguish­ers and adequate fire safety signatures at its premises as is required by the authoritie­s.

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