An 18-year-old student on Monday filed a petition in the Bombay High Court seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the massive fire at a restaurant in Mumbai’s Kamala Mills compound on December 29 that killed 14 people.
The petition was filed by Garv Sud from Mumbai, who is currently living in the United Kingdom, PTI reported. “We will wait for it [the petition] to come up for hearing once the High Court resumes after the vacation on January 4,” Sud’s lawyer Prakash Wagh said.
The petition urged the court to direct the police to charge the owners of Kamala Mills under Section 304 (culpable homicide) of the Indian Penal Code. “It is not enough to just book the owners of ‘1 Above’ pub for culpable homicide and negligence,” the petition said. “The owners of Kamala Mills are equally responsible for the incident.”
The fire broke out at 1Above inside Mumbai’s Kamala Mills on Friday and soon spread to other eateries and the adjacent building, which houses the offices of several TV channels. Five municipal officials were suspended the next day, and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis promised action against the guilty.
On Monday, the Mumbai Police had arrested two managers of 1Above lounge as they fled the restaurant on the night of the fire and did not help rescue the customers.
On Saturday, the police issued a lookout notice against three co-owners – brothers Kripesh and Jigar Sanghvi, and Abhijeet Manka. They were charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Action taken so far
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had said it will investigate more than 100 officers and engineers for allegedly allowing illegal modifications at bars, pubs and restaurants in their jurisdictions.
The municipal corporation on Sunday sealed 30 restaurants in the city’s 24 wards, a day after demolishing illegal structures at 314 eateries and sealing seven of them.
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