Mumbai: The police on Saturday arrested Yug Pathak — son of a retired Indian Police Service officer K.K. Pathak — co-owner of Mojo’s Bistro, in connection with the fire at the Kamala Mills compound on December 29 which claimed 14 lives.
On Friday, the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB), in its investigation report, said burning embers from a charcoal sigree used for hookahs at Mojo’s Bistro was likely to have caused the initial fire, which rapidly spread to the adjacent 1Above, which is located adjacent to Mojo’s Bistro.
On Saturday, the N.M. Joshi Marg police added the names of Yug Pathak and Yug Tulli, owners of Mojo’s Bistro, in the FIR that had earlier been registered against the owners of 1Above. The FIR has booked all the accused for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
An officer with the N.M. Joshi Marg Police Station said, “We already had some information to indicate that the hookahs being served at Mojo’s were responsible for the fire. However, the Fire Brigade is the competent body to opine on the matter, and we were waiting for their report before deciding on the further course of action.”
Subsequently, Mr. Pathak was summoned for inquiries to the police station and placed under arrest.The police also summoned Mr. Tulli. A manager at Mojo’s has also been detained for questioning, sources said.
The police officer clarified that the MFB report does not absolve 1Above of its culpability. “All fatalities were at 1Above and there are clear indications of gross negligence when it came to fire safety in the establishment. We will be including these details in the charge-sheet,” the officer said.
