Kamala Mills fire: Nexus between accused and civic officials responsible for tragedy, says court
The bench said the compound’s owners got the BMC to sanction additional Floor Space Index on the pretext that it was an information technology park.
The sessions court in Mumbai hearing the case of the Kamala Mills fire, in which 14 people died, said on Saturday that an “unholy nexus” between the accused and municipal officials was the primary cause of the tragedy, The Indian Express reported.
The court made the observation in a detailed order dismissing the bail pleas of Ramesh Govani and Ravi Bhandari, the owners of the Kamala Mills compound. On Friday, it rejected bail applications of 11 accused in the December 29, 2017 incident.
The fire had started at the Mojo’s Bistro restaurant and spread to the adjacent 1Above, where 14 people died of suffocation. On Saturday, the court said that Govani and Bhandari gave the terraces of the Trade House Building on leave and license to the two restaurant owners.
“Earlier, the map of the building was sanctioned by getting additional Floor Space Index from the municipal corporation on the pretext that it was an information technology park,” the court said in its order. “The bail applicants then constructed the building called Trade House and converted it into a commercial space.”
The court said the accused gave the terrace on rent even though they were not authorised to do so. The bench added that plans and documents about the constructions were misrepresented to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation officials.
The judges said that the owners of Mojo’s Bistro and 1Above had served hookah illegally on their premises. “The applicants had blocked the fire exit by storing articles,” the court observed. “The fire safety mechanism was not in place. It was mandatory for them to keep the terrace open. But they constructed the shed, which resulted in the death of people.”
The court added fire officer Rajendra Patil was in “dereliction of duty” as he had colluded with the other accused by giving a false report concealing that an illegal shed had been built. On Friday, it also rejected the bail petitions of Utkarsh Pandey – who had a revenue sharing agreement with the hotels to serve hookah illegally – and the two managers of 1Above.