Kamala Mills co-owner held

Mumbai: The NM Joshi police on Monday arrested the co-owner of Kamala Mills, Ramesh Gowani from Chembur Naka. Gowani was arrested connection with the Kamala Mills fire case in which 14 people died on December 29, 2017. 

Gowani was arrested under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) related to culpable homicide not amounting to murder. 

According to police officers, Govani was out of town since the fire broke out December 29. The police received a tip-off that Gowani was coming back to Mumbai. A police team intercepted his car near Chembur Naka and arrested him. 

There are two different cases registered against Govani - one is under MRTP act for illegal construction and another is under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 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 (common intention). The fire that gutted resto pubs 1Above and Mojo's Bistro killed 14 innocent people and injured 31 others. 

Deputy commissioner of police (zone 3), Virendra Mishara said, "He was arrested under section 304 of the IPC. Our team laid a trap and arrested him on Monday evening." 

Govani had allegedly sought a license and approval for an IT office, but later used the place for resto pubs, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)'s probe report on the fire that took place on December 29. The BMC report that was submitted to the state government on Thursday also stated that the eating-house and toilets were sanctioned for the IT office staff.

The report states: "The owner/architect have taken approval from building proposal department for a kitchen and dining area for the staff of the IT offices and fraudulently used them for getting eating house license from the Medical Officer Health (MOH) G/south ward. It is amply clear from a look at this plan that the location of the kitchen and the dining area in the approved plan of the building proposal department and the location where the eating house license got issued are not the same. They have clearly misrepresented in this document and obtained the license by fraudulent means".