Kamala Mills fire tragedy: 14 people died in the massive fire on December 29
Highlights
- Fire department probe finds fire started from Mojo's and not 1Above
- Embers from charcoal used for illegal hookahs set curtains afire: Probe
- 14 people died in huge fire at Mumbai's Kamala Mills building last month
A case has been filed against Mojo's Bistro -- the pub where the deadly fire in Mumbai's Kamala Mills that killed 14 people last month started -- and one of the pub owners has been arrested. Yug Pathak, the son of Pune's former police chief KK Pathak, who was arrested today, is a partner in the business.
The Mumbai police filed the case of culpable homicide this morning after the fire department said flying embers from the charcoal used for hookahs touched the curtains at the upscale pub. The restaurant did not have clearance to serve sheesha.
The management of adjacent pub, 1Above, whom the police blamed for the fire, had claimed that Mojo's Bistro was responsible for the fire and was managing to stay in the clear because of their political connections.
They wrote to the President, Prime Minister, Chief Minister, Mumbai Police Commissioner and the chief of the city's civic body, demanding that the matter be investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Alleging there was a conspiracy against them, they accused the police of "destroying the evidence on site and making false reports".
The police have arrested two managers of the pub and three relatives of the absconding owners. On Friday, a reward of Rs. 1 lakh was also announced for their arrest.
Most of the people who died were patrons of 1Above. Their bodies were found piled up inside the toilet. They had gone there to escape the flames, but died of suffocation.
The fire department report said the pub's bouncer should have guided the stranded people to the emergency escape route which could have saved the life of these people. "This seems that even the security personnel were not aware of the emergency escape as one of the victim is security personnel (Bouncer) died in the Toilet (sic)," the fire department's preliminary probe report accessed by NDTV said.
Mojo's Bistro said not a single death took place on their premises because their staff had undergone training in first aid, CPR, and fire drills.