BJP urges Maharashtra government to challenge acquittal of Mumbai’s Kamala Mills fire accused

BJP’s Ashish Shelar has demanded to inquire if the government pleaders had failed to argue properly in the case

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has urged the chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to challenge the acquittal of the two accused in the Kamala Mills fire case. BJP’s former Mumbai unit chief and member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Bandra Ashish Shelar raised concerns over the acquittal of the owners of the Mills and questioned if this will help other accused to escape scot-free from the case that claimed 14 innocent lives in 2017. Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar said the Mumbai civic body and state government would consider the details of the court order and then plan the future course of legal action.

Over 14 people were killed in a massive fire that erupted at 1 Above restaurant and Mojos Bistro pub on December 29, 2017. (HT Photo)

Shelar wrote to Thackeray on Thursday demanding to appeal against the acquittal of accused in the high court. Shelar said that the owners of the Kamala Mills Compound - Ramesh Gowani and Ravi Bhandari have been acquitted by the session court two days ago and this could lead to the acquittal of other ten accused if the case was not properly represented by the police, civic body and the state government.

Over 14 people were killed in a massive fire that erupted at 1 Above restaurant and Mojos Bistro pub on December 29, 2017. Twelve people including owners of the Mills were booked holding them responsible. The owners had claimed to be innocent and said that they couldn’t be held responsible for the fire.

“Both of them appeared to be prime accused in the fire case. Their acquittal is serious. We had raised questions over the floor space index (FSI) fraud in the Mills compound after the incident. Our government had put the culprits behind the bars, but they have now been acquitted in Thackeray government’s rule. People will raise questions if the government was shielding owners of the restaurants and pubs. To avoid any such blame, the state government should move the upper court challenging the acquittal,” he said.

Shelar has said that the panel appointed to probe the fire had stated in the report that the FSI scam had taken place in the Mills compound.

He has also demanded to inquire into if the government pleaders failed to argue properly in the case. He has expressed the need to appoint eminent lawyers in the high court to take the case to the logical end.

Mayor Kishori Pednekar said that the state government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will look into the case and move the upper court if the need be.

“This is a decision given by the court and one should not politicise it. BMC, state government and their legal departments will look into the court ruling and also check if the case was properly represented in court. Shelar should not play politics into it and take a convenient stand,” she said.