Mumbai, Jan 6: The Mumbai Police on Friday announced Rs 1 lakh reward for any information on the three absconding owners of 1Above – Kripesh Sanghavi, Jigar Sanghavi, and Abhijeet Mankar – in connection with the Kamla Mills fire tragedy. It is likely to add more names to the list of accused, news agency ANI reported. “We have announced a reward of ₹1 lakh to anyone who provides information on the accused,” Additional Commissioner of Police (Central region) S. Jayakumar said. Wanted posters of owners of the 1Above restaurant have also been pasted on their residential building gate in Mazgaon.
The owners of the 1Above restaurant, in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, called the investigation ‘biased’ and said they cannot be held responsible for the tragic incident as the fire started from the Mojo’s Bistro. The Mumbai Police is also considering addition of some new sections against the accused in Kamala Mills fire tragedy.
The fire department probe on Friday revealed that flying ambers from lit hookahs at Mojo’s Bistro restaurant was the reason behind the Kamala Mills fire in Lower Parel.
“It was revealed from most of the eyewitnesses that hookah was served at Mojo’s restaurant at the time of fire… There is every possibility that during removal of lighted charcoal from the segree (stove) and or transferring it into Hookah or during the fanning of the charcoal the flying burning embers came in contact with the combustible curtains/ decorative material nearby and started the fire,” the report stated. (Also Read: ‘Woman Came Out With Flames on Her Both Hands’: Kamala Mills Fire Eyewitness Recounts Horror)
Another revelation the fire department made was that neither of the two pubs – 1Above and Mojo’s Bistro – had the clearances to serve liquor or run the hookah bar. The probe also highlighted that at least 200 people were present at Mojo’s Bistro and 1Above when the fire broke out. (Also Read: Is Police-politics-administration Nexus Responsible For The Tragedy?)
The probe said that when the fire broke out in the Kamala Mills compound building, people rushed towards the lifts but took stairs when found them non-functional. In fact, some even took shelter in a toilet to protect themselves from fire and smoke. Subsequently, 14 people died due to asphyxia or suffocation. The report also added that the staff of the restaurant was not aware of any safety evacuation doors in the pub.
At least 14 people died and several others injured in a massive fire that broke out at a commercial building in Mumbai’s Kamala Mills in Lower Parel in the wee hours of December 28, 2017.