A day after the Mumbai Fire Brigade released its report on the fire at the Kamala Mills compound , the N.M. Joshi Marg police booked the owners of Mojo’s Bistro, and arrested one of its owners, Yug Pathak.
On Friday, the Mumbai Fire Brigade had stated in its investigation report the burning embers from a charcoal sigree used for hookahs are likely to have caused the fire, after coming into contact with the curtains, at Mojo’s Bistro. The fire spread rapidly to 1 Above, which is located adjacent to Mojo’s Bistro.
On Saturday morning, the N.M. Joshi Marg police added the names of Yug Pathak, son of retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer K.K. Pathak, and Yug Tulli, who own Mojo’s Bistro , in the FIR that had earlier been registered against the owners of 1 Above. 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 late on Saturday afternoon. The police have also summoned Mr. Tulli, asking him to appear for inquiries. A manager at Mojo’s has been detained for questioning, too, sources confirmed.
The officer added that the Fire Brigade’s report does not absolve 1 Above of its culpability.
“All the fatalities were at 1 Above 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.
The police had on Friday declared cash rewards of ₹1 lakh for any information regarding the whereabouts of Kripesh Sanghavi, Jigar Sanghavi and Abhijeet Mankar of Sigrid Ospitalia, which runs 1 Above.
