Mumbai: Two owners of 1Above pub, who had been missing for nearly two weeks since 14 people were killed in a fire in Mumbai’s Kamala Mills compound, were arrested by the Mumbai Police late on Wednesday night, said media reports.
The pub is run by three partners – Kripesh Sanghavi, Jigar Sanghavi and Abhijeet Mankar. The Sanghavis have been arrested, but Abhijeet Mankar continues to be on the run. A case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder has been registered against them. On Tuesday, Vishal Karya, a known face in Mumbai’s social circles was arrested for allegedly helping Abhijeet Mankar evade arrest.
The owners of 1Above had written to the President, Prime Minister, Chief Minister, Mumbai Police Commissioner and the chief of the city’s civic body, demanding that the matter be investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Alleging there was a conspiracy against them, they accused the police of “destroying the evidence on site and making false reports”.
The Mumbai Police had filed a case initially against the management of 1Above but later also added the names of the owners of Mojo’s Bistro. 1Above and Mojo’s Bistro are pubs located on the rooftop of a building in Kamala Mills Compound. According to the probe by the fire department, the fire started at Mojo’s Bistro and spread to 1Above on December 29.
The report said flying embers from the charcoal used for hookahs touched the curtains at the upscale pub. The restaurant did not have clearance to serve sheesha. Both restaurants had illegal structures and flouted fire safety norms, according to the fire department.
Last week, Yug Pathak, the son of a retired IPS officer and one of the owners of the Mojo’s Bistro pub, was arrested and sent to five-day police custody.
Most of the people who died were patrons of 1Above. Their bodies were found piled up inside the toilet. They had gone there to escape the flames, but died of suffocation.
