Surat spa fire kills Sikkim woman on first day at work, along with friend
A huge fire that broke out at the spa in Surat also claimed the life of her 33-year-old friend Manisha Damai. Both died of asphyxiation after inhaling smoke, police said, adding that their bodies were found in the bathroom of the spa, situated on the third floor of a building.
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Officials of the Surat Fire Department, and police personnel at the site of the incident, on Thursday. (Express photo by Hanif Malek)On Wednesday, a 30-year-old Sikkim woman, Benu Limboo, had no hint that her first day at work at Surat’s Amrutya Spa and Salon Centre — located in the upmarket City Light Road area — will be her last. Only three days ago, Limboo had moved from Maharashtra’s Lonavala to Surat, possibly in the hope of a better life.
A huge fire that broke out at the spa in Surat also claimed the life of her 33-year-old friend Manisha Damai. Both died of asphyxiation after inhaling smoke, police said, adding that their bodies were found in the bathroom of the spa, situated on the third floor of a building.
As the Surat City Police booked spa owner Dilshad Khan and Sun Gym owners, Vasim Mistry and Shahnavaz Mistry, where the spa was situated, initial probe has indicated that the fire started after a short circuit in one of the electric panels in the gym. The spa’s glass doors had fingerprint sensors, and the police suspect Limboo and Damai were unable to open the door in time while three of their colleagues were able to escape.
The spa had reopened on Tuesday after the Diwali holidays while the gym was to reopen on Thursday. The entire premise has now been sealed for probe.
According to police, Limboo and Damai knew each other from before and had worked at a spa in Lonavala.
It was Damai who had asked Limboo to move to Surat for work and had recommended her to spa owner Khan.
Surat spa fire kills Sikkim woman on first day at work, along with friend
Damai had quit her job two months back to shift to Surat.Three days ago, Limboo settled in a rented quarter allotted by Khan at Ghod Dod Road. Limboo was to get Rs 18,000 per month as salary while Manisha was paid Rs 22,000.
Sources in the Surat Fire Department said that apart from Limboo and Damai, there were three other women, including firm manager Smita Supa and two employees Avi and Emy, who were present in the spa when the incident occurred.
The spa is set up on an elevated structure inside the Sun Gym on the third floor of Shiv Puja complex. Since the gym was closed, only a caretaker, Chetan, was present for some cleaning work, said fire officials.
Talking about the cause of fire, Vesu fire officer Ishwar Patel said, “The fire erupted in the electric panel, possibly due to a short circuit, along the reception centre at the gym. On noticing the flames, caretaker Chetan raised an alarm and also alerted the people working at the spa. Initially all five women ran behind them, but due to some unknown reason, Limboo and Damai went back inside but could not come out”.
“Damai’s body was found in the bathroom while Limboo’s was found in the manicure pedicure room. The inside doors of the spa are made of glass and have fingerprint sensors, but no handle. Only staffers knew how to open them. Limboo might have tried to open the door but her finger might not have reached the sensor point due to the smoke,” Patel added.
According to the officials in the Surat Fire Department, the fire spread fast due to the sofas and other inflammable items such as curtains, and cushions. The entire gym area was covered with smoke as the floor has no ventilator, said officials.
Brothers under scanner
The Umra police on Wednesday night lodged a case of accidental death in connection with the matter. The case has been registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 54 (abettor present when offence is committed) against Shahnavaz Mistry, Vasim Mistry and Dilshad Khan. On Thursday morning, fire department officials, forensic science laboratory (FSL) teams and officials of Torrent Power visited the accident spot as part of the probe.
Deputy commissioner of police, Zone 4, Vijay Singh Gurjar said, “We have got primary reports from different departments. We are registering a case against the spa owner Dilshad Khan and the Sun Gym owners and brothers — Vasim Mistry and Shahnavaz Mistry. We have also taken statements and collected documents from the gym and spa owners and are analyzing them. Vasim and Shahnavaz, who run the gym reside in Surat, are originally from Rajasthan. Both had taken the property on rent from one Bhupendra Popat in 2019”.
“The Mistry brothers had made an elevated structure in the gym to build the spa, after which they rented it out to Dilshad Khan, who belongs to Haryana. We have also collected the rent agreement. The spa had been running for the last 11 months. Dilshad also runs a spa in another place in Varachha area. We have also collected the CCTV footage but due to smoke nothing is visible. We have sent the footage to FSL for some clarity,” said DCP Gurjar.
Like several other spas in Gujarat that are routinely checked for suspected human trafficking, the police had earlier sent decoys to Amrutya Spa only to find it clean. It had also renewed its fire clearances last month.“The spa turned out to be clean during the surprise checking,” said the DCP.Surat chief fire officer Basant Pareek said, “The complex’s fire NOC was renewed in October. We had twice issued notices on the gym owner this year as there was no separate exit from the premises. The gym has fire facility equipment and fire alarm systems. They illegally developed mezzanine. The spa room doors and interiors were made up of glass with finger sensors for opening. There is no ventilation inside the spa and gym.” Still in a state of shock, spa manager Smita Supa, who survived the fire, was at Umra police police station for the whole of Thursday, giving her account of the incident.Supa who belongs to Sikkim moved to Surat four years ago to work with Dilshad Khan at his Varachha spa. “I work as a manager at the spa. My responsibility is to smoothly run both the spas, at the City light area and in Varachha. Our work starts at 10 am and we work till 9 pm,” Supa told The Indian Express.
She added, “My family’s financial condition is not good. I used to send monthly expenses to my parents but now with this incident, I have decided not to continue such work anymore. My dream was to save money and start my own spa centre in Surat but now I have decided to return to my native place and find some other job”.
Talking about the difficulties, she said: “People don’t see us with respect and think we are into flesh trade, which I don’t like. We are strict with our customers and do not entertain such unfavourable demands. Every day we used to cater to 20 customers, both men and women. Sometimes the number of customers even crossed 40. Once all the formalities here are done, I will leave this place and stay with my daughter.” Supa, who is divorced, has one daughter who stays with her maternal grandparents in Sikkim.
Sikkim CM offers condolences
Meanwhile, Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang expressed sorrow over the fire incident. In an official statement on Thursday, Tamang extended his condolences to the bereaved families and assured them of the state’s support during this difficult time.
“In this moment of grief, we are standing in solidarity with you,” said Tamang. He also announced that the Sikkim government has reached out to the Gujarat administration for immediate assistance.
The Principal Resident Commissioner in Delhi has been directed to oversee and ensure that the necessary support is provided to the affected families, he added.
(With PTI inputs)
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