Fireworks during poll campaign spark blaze in Bandra high-rise, seventh-floor flat gutted

Fireworks from a political rally ignited a fire in a Bandra East flat, causing significant property loss but no injuries. Investigation ongoing.

MUMBAI: An election campaign in Bandra East took a dangerous turn on Tuesday night when fireworks allegedly set off by some political party workers entered a flat in a residential high-rise, triggering a major fire. While there were no casualties, there was a huge property loss.

Fire broken out at Kherwadi, Prajakta building in Bandra East on Wednesday. (Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times)

According to the residents, the incident occurred around 8.30 pm at Prajakta Building No. 13, A-wing, when a rocket reportedly fired from the road below entered a flat on the seventh floor and ignited a fire, when the flat owner, Ashton Rodgers, who lives there with his elderly parents, was away for a wedding. The fire started in the bedroom and soon spread into the hall, causing huge property damage.

Rodgers was attending the wedding with his mother at the MIG Club while his father, who is wheelchair-bound, was waiting downstairs. “I ran back as soon as I was informed. My only worry was to ensure my father’s safety,” he said, adding that he was relieved to find him unharmed.

Residents alleged that some political party workers were bursting firecrackers and firing rockets as part of election campaigning in the area when one of the rockets entered the flat from the bedroom window, triggering the fire. By the time residents rushed to the spot, the party workers allegedly fled.

Describing the damage, Rodgers said the 500 sq ft one-bedroom flat was completely gutted. “There is no furniture left, no valuables, ornaments, laptop or documents. My watches, electric guitars, gold jewellery, cash, helmets—everything has been destroyed. The losses are unimaginable,” he said.

Rodgers said his father witnessed people bursting firecrackers outside the building, but their political affiliation could not be identified. “By the time we reached the spot, the party workers had disappeared. There were firecrackers dumped under a car, but it was impossible to verify which party was responsible,” he said.

As a precautionary measure, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) disconnected the electricity and gas supply to the affected flat following the fire.

The Nirmal Nagar police have conducted a panchnama of the flat, but an official complaint is yet to be filed.

“My father is a retired railway official, and my mother is a retired general manager with the Reserve Bank of India. We are ordinary citizens. All we are asking for is that those responsible be held accountable,” Rodgers said, appealing for accountability.

A senior fire official from Bandra East said preliminary accounts from residents and bystanders suggested that fireworks from a political rally caused the fire. “The blaze started in the bedroom and spread to the living room. However, the police are yet to complete their investigation,” the official said.