Kamala Mills fire: Two managers of resto-pub 1Above get bail

The court said while the owners of 1Above, Kripesh Sanghvi, Jigar Sanghvi and Abhijit Mankar, and Mojo’s Bistro had tried to blame each other for the blaze, witness statements showed that the fire had spread to both premises. “Most of the prosecution witnesses unanimously stated that there was no fire safety equipment and no emergency exit, which can work in an emergency and plastic tarpaulin was used as roof and there were flammable things, which contributed to the fire accident,” the court said.

The accused had contended that they could not be booked under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code for culpable homicide not amounting to murder as police do not have evidence that there was an intention to kill people. They had claimed that they were in the business of hospitality and could not imagine the risk to their customers. The court, however, said it is not a stage to scrutinise the charges made out against the accused during bail arguments.

In its order on the two managers of 1Above, Lisbon Lopes and Kevin Bawa, the court observed that as managers, their extent of contribution to the fire was the subject matter of the trial and they could be released on bail. The court directed that since they were employees of the three co-accused, they should not contact any of the witnesses and tamper with any evidence. They have been directed to be released on a bond of Rs 25,000 each. On December 29, a fire that allegedly started from a hookah counter at Mojo’s Bistro spread to 1Above, killing 14 and injuring several others.