Friday, Apr 19, 2024 | Last Update : 10:31 AM IST
Techie’s body found in Cinevista studio
The victim Gopi Verma (20), an audio assistant, was working inside the studio when the fire broke out, said sources.
Mumbai: The charred remains of a 20-year-old technician were recovered on Sunday morning from the Kanjurmarg-based Cinevista studio, where a massive fire broke out on Saturday evening. The victim Gopi Verma (20), an audio assistant, was working inside the studio when the fire broke out, said sources.
All the people, including the cast and crew, were evacuated from the studio and were reported to be safe. The blaze, it is suspected, originated from a generator in the studio. The incident occurred a week after a deadly fire killed 14 people in the Lower Parel’s Kamala Mills compound.
Verma’s father Swaroop Kumar Verma identified the body using his Aadhaar card and mobile handset. Verma was a Goregaon resident and his father is a technician employed with Film City.
According to the police, the body was found during a search on Sunday morning. Stating that no studio personnel had realised that Verma didn’t make it out, DCP (Zone 7) Akhilesh Singh said, “We were very much present when the cooling and dousing operations were going on.”
Senior police inspector Vilas Jadhav of the Parksite police station said, “His dad arrived at the site at 8.30 am. After his son was not to be seen, we started our search and got to know that he was charred to death.”
Talking to The Asian Age, a fire official said, “We were winding up our operations when the police interrupted us and told us to search for Gopi who went missing. None of the crew members from the set had realised.”
Dr Vidya Thakur, medical superintendent of the civic-run Rajawadi Hospital, said, “His body was brought to us in the morning. We have sent samples for further analysis to the Kalina laboratory. Forensic doctors have mentioned that he was engulfed in flames, which resulted in his death.”
Two TV serials Bepanaah and Haasil were being shot at the studio when the fire broke out. Initial reports had indicated that there were no casualties in the fire since the actors and crewmembers had safely exited the premises but later the body of techinician was found.
