Why cops are guarding gutted Zaveri Bazaar building

The L T Marg police chowki, which is at a 100-meter distance from the building, posts between four to five constables round-the-clock, even as the jewellers and teams from Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) are gradually extricating the precious goods from the burnt remains

MUMBAI: More than 10 days after a five-storeyed building in Zaveri Bazaar was gutted by fire, the LT Marg police have been compelled to guard its skeletal remains 24X7, as jewellers who owned units in the building have substantial quantity of gold and diamonds still stocked there. One diamond and eight gold jewellers operated out of their units here.

“We have given security to the structure as the residents of the building are still ascertaining the stock of gold and diamonds in their units and giving us a list. Apart from the jewellery makers, the landlord of the building also lived on its fourth floor. They continued to live and carry out their businesses, even after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) declared it a dangerous structure,” said a police officer from L T Marg police station. (Anshuman Poyrekar/ HT PHOTO)

The L T Marg police chowki, which is at a 100-meter distance from the building, posts between four to five constables round-the-clock, even as the jewellers and teams from Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) are gradually extricating the precious goods from the burnt remains. Any jeweller is known to stock at least five kgs of gold in their unit, which translates to around ₹3 crore worth of raw material per unit.

“We have given security to the structure as the residents of the building are still ascertaining the stock of gold and diamonds in their units and giving us a list. Apart from the jewellery makers, the landlord of the building also lived on its fourth floor. They continued to live and carry out their businesses, even after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) declared it a dangerous structure,” said a police officer from L T Marg police station.

On June 9, fire broke out in the building identified as White House on Dhanji Street, Near Mumbai Devi Temple around midnight and the fire brigade along with local police rescued around 60 trapped people by safely leading them through the staircases of an adjacent building.

The fire was confined to three lower floors – ground, first and second. It resulted in turning the building into an inhabitable space – portions of the ceiling fell off from the three floors which were completely destroyed by the fire.

“We are thankful to the authorities, especially fire-brigade, that saved all the residents of the building and we are hopeful now that all the jewellers will get their valuables back as well. They had closed the road itself, as after the fire the structure had become dangerous. On Thursday authorities reopened a part of the road for traffic and we are slowly removing valuables from the remains of the building,” said Kumar Jain, national spokesperson for the India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA) and owner of Umedmal Tilokchand Zaveri stores. He added that though the precious stock is kept in lockers, some businessmen keep some stock open as well, as craftsmen are known to work late in the night designing jewellery.

“They have started removing valuables on Thursday and people have already submitted their lists to the cops and BMC authorities. To avoid any kind of thefts and allegations subsequently there are policemen deployed outside the structure,” said a local jeweller who didn’t want to be identified.

“Every floor had four to five rooms in which the units were housed. Policemen stop people from entering the premises to avoid thefts. The road was also closed to keep people away and protect the valuables,” said a police officer.