Mumbai’s former Police Commissioner and Punjab’s ex-Director General of Police Julio Riberio on Tuesday moved the Bombay High Court, seeking a court-monitored probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the December 29 fire in the Kamala Mills compound to fix responsibility for the incident and also to make fire audits compulsory for all pubs, restaurants, hotels and eateries across the metropolis.
In a PIL filed before the high court, 88-year-old Riberio made a strong case for the setting up of a HC-monitored SIT to look into the role of the senior officials of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in the circumstances leading the December 29 blaze in which 14 persons and 55 others injured and three pubs-cum-restaurants were gutted, and fix responsibility for the mishap.
Talking The Pioneer here in the evening, Riberio said: “The BMC officials have a big role to play in the whole thing. Mere transfer or suspension of some low-level officials won’t help matters. There needs to be a thorough investigation. All of those officials responsible for glaring negligence and deliberate omissions in complying with various fire safety norms laid down under various acts should be brought to book”.
“The persons who have been arrested so far are all small fries. The big fish involved in the whole thing need to be booked and tried,” Riberio said. “Apart from seeking a court-monitored SIT probe, I have also urged the court to make fire audit compulsory all pubs, restaurants, hotels and eateries across the city,” Riberio said.
According to Riberio, the SIT to be appointed by the court must headed by a top-ranking police officer. “The officer to be appointed should not be below the rank of an Additional Commissioner of Police.
“Only a HC-monitored SIT probe will bring out the truth,” he said.
Among other things, the PIL seeks directions to Mumbai’s Chief Fire Officer to carry out a fire safety audit of each and every eatery/restaurant/lounge/bar/pub/Restro-bar or any place which has been issued an eating license to serve food/beverage/alcohol etc, within the jurisdiction of the BMC.
The police have so far arrested five persons, including two managers of 1Above pub – Kevin Bawa and Gibson Lopez, arrested two relatives of the absconding Sanghavi duo – uncle Rakesh Sanghavi and cousin Aditya Sanghavi for giving shelter to the currently absconding co-owners of 1Above pub and Yug K. Pathak, son of a retired IPS officer and Pune's former police commissioner and one of the co-owners of Mojo's Bistro.
The uncle-cousin --Rakesh Sanghavi and Aditya Sanghavi – were subsequently produced before the Bhoiwada Court which released them on a bail of Rs.25,000.
The police are on the lookout Kripesh Sanghavi and Jigar Sanghavi, who have been absconding since the incident. The police have announced a cash reward for those giving information about the whereabouts of the key absconding accused
On its part, the Maharashtra government had on December 29 itself announced the suspension of five BMC officials after they were found prima facie guilty of giving illegal permissions, while a criminal offence had been registered against the owners and managers of the affected restaurants and pubs.
Apart from announcing the suspension of five BMC officials, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had asked Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta to submit a comprehensive report on the incident within a fortnight.