The Mumbai Police on Saturday evening arrested three more people in connection with the Kamala Mills fire that killed 14 people on December 28, 2017, reported PTI. However, the police did not reveal why they took into custody Ravi Bhandari, a partner in Kamala Mills, fire station officer Rajendra Patil and Utkarsh Pandey, the owner of Nirvana Hookah.
With this, total eight people are in custody now. Owners of the 1Above restro-bar Jigar Sanghvi, Kripesh Sanghvi and Abhijit Mankar, as well as owners of the adjoining Mojo’s Bistro – Yug Pathak and Yugi Tulli – are already arrested. The owners of both the restro-bars were booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other section under the Indian Penal Code.
A Mumbai fire brigade report had concluded that the blaze originated at Mojo’s Bistro, and not at 1Above restro-bar. But the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation recommended criminal action against the owners of the premises and the architects and interior designers of the two restaurants.
In its report, the BMC said the fire started at Mojo’s Bistro and spread rapidly to the 1Above restaurant. The blaze started because of the hookah being served “illegally” in Mojo’s Bistro.
The restaurant had covered the terrace partially without permission and had used combustible material for its construction, the BMC said. The 1Above restaurant also had flammable materials and it caught fire soon after.
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