Kamala Mills fire: Police announce reward of ₹1 lakh for information on eatery owners

The reward has been announced against the owners of 1Above, Kirpesh Sanghvi and Jigar Sanghvi, and their partner Abhijit Manka.

The Mumbai police have announced a reward of Rs1 lakh for anyone who can provide information about the three owners of 1Above pub in Kamala Mills following the outbreak of a fire which killed 14 people on December 29.

A massive fire broke out at a rooftop restaurant in Kamala Mill Compound in Mumbai on December 29. (HT photo)

The reward has been announced against the owners of 1Above, Kirpesh Sanghvi and Jigar Sanghvi, and their partner Abhijit Manka.

The three were booked under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), section 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code in a case filed at NM Joshi Marg police station.

They have been absconding since the FIR was filed. The police teams have been unable to trace them despite searching in Mumbai, Pune, and Gujarat, among other places. As soon as the case was filed, the police issued a look out circular (LOC) against them to ensure that they did not flee the country by air. However, the efforts of the police have not yielded any result so far and the three continue to evade arrest.

Earlier, the owners of 1Above had claimed to be innocent, through a letter sent by their lawyer. Kripesh Sanghvi and his brother Jigar alleged that the fire originated from Mojo Bistro and that those who lost their lives in the bathroom of 1Above were patrons of Mojo Bistro.