Five killed in fire at cotton godown near Chakan; 2 arrested

Five persons including four women were killed in a major fire which broke out at a cotton godown near Chakan in Pune district this morning.
The police arrested the owner of the godown and owner of the land where it is situated in a case of negligence later in the day.
The fire broke out at around 10 in the morning at the godown at Sana industries premises on Talegaon-Chakan road at Kharabwadi, about 45 km from Pune.
"We have registered a case under section 304 part II (causing death by negligence) against the owner of the cotton godown and the owner of the land," said Rajkumar Shinde, Additional Superintendent of Police.

Godown owner Asif Khan and land owner Ramdas Maruti Kad were arrested.
ASP Shinde said the land was residential, but Kad leased it for a commercial purpose (godown) and provided an illegal electricity connection from adjoining residential plot.
Investigation to ascertain the cause of the fire was underway, but short-circuit could be the reason, he said.
The victims were identified as Kalpana Shirsath, Radha Thakur, Ujjwala Saosale, Kusum Sakharkar and Ramdas Rathod, all workers at the godown. Some other workers managed to escape in time.