Pub fire: Owners denied bail; relief for 2 employees

A sessions court here today rejected the bail pleas of three owners of '1 Above' pub and a co-owner of the adjacent 'Mojo's Bistro' in the Kamala Mills fire case, but granted bail to two employees.

A devastating fire at the two rooftop pubs in Kamala Mills Compound in central Mumbai had claimed 14 lives on December 29 last year.

Additional Sessions Judge S V Yarlagadda refused bail to '1 Above' owners Kripesh Sanghvi, Jigar Sanghvi and Abhijeet Mankar, and Mojo's Bistro co-owner Yug Pathak.

The judge, however, granted bail to '1 Above' managers Kewin Baba and Libson Lopez.

The court had last month refused bail to Mojo's Bistro co-owner Yug Tulli.

The police had arrested 14 persons in the case, including owners of the two restaurants and officials of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), for alleged negligence.

The fire started because of charcoal embers flying from hookah, served illegally at Mojo's Bistro, and spread quickly, said a report of the MCGM's fire department.

Patrons could not escape because illegal alterations had blocked exits, it alleged.