Kamala Mills fire: Congress demands CBI probe, Ajoy Mehta’s suspension
Leader of the Opposition in legislative Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil called the Mumbai civic chief’s actions “suspicious”
Claiming that the probe into the Kamala Mills fire is being conducted by the same officials responsible for the blaze, the Congress said it will move the Bombay high court, seeking probe led by the Central Bureau Investigation (CBI). The party has also demanded that civic chief Ajoy Mehta and his immediate juniors be suspended.
Leader of the Opposition in legislative Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said he would file a public interest litigation next week to demand a CBI probe into the fire that killed 14.
“Mehta approved the rooftop policy, despite the general body’s opposition. He abruptly stopped the demolition drive, which saw action against 135 such eateries in two days after the fire. He also announced that the BMC wanted restaurants to remove illegalities on their own in 15 days. All these steps are suspicious,’’ said Vikhe Patil. He added that Mehta and other officials should be booked under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
“Mehta said he was pressured into not taking action against the people responsible for the fire. By not disclosing the names of the leaders he is protecting their interests. If the state government is serious about giving justice to the victims' families, it should announce a CBI probe into the fire,” he said.
Vikhe Patil, was accompanied senior party leaders including former minister Suresh Shetty. They called the Bhima Koregaon violence a “state-sponsored” incident. The leaders said that the violence and the reaction following it was the result of the government’s failure to act in time, despite inputs by intelligence agencies. Vikhe Patil said the judicial probe announced by the government into the violence should be monitored by the Bombay HC.
‘Gadkari must apologise for insulting Indian Navy’
Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant has demanded an apology from Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari over his ‘insult’ to the Indian Navy. Gadkari had criticised the Navy for opposing the construction of a jetty at Nariman Point on Thursday, saying it should patrol the Pakistan border instead.
“This is not the first time that the Navy has denied permission to development projects. It had objected to helipads and other projects in the past, citing security reasons. Asking the Navy to move out of Mumbai may hamper its morale and indirectly help countries such as Pakistan,” Sawant said.