The Byculla police arrested two persons for allegedly providing shelter to the owners of '1Above' pub who were booked after a fire at their establishment in Kamala Mills that claimed 14 lives and injured at least 16 persons on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.
The NM Joshi Marg Police had then registered a criminal case against 1Above's owners, Kripesh Sanghvi, Jigar Sanghvi, co-owner Abhijeet Mankar and others on various charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The arrested accused have been identified as their uncle Rakesh Sanghvi and cousin Aditya Sanghvi. The two were later released on bail by the court. Apart from them, the police have also registered a case against another uncle of the duo, Mahendra Sanghvi and have taken him into custody. The police alleged that the all of them helped the brothers flee.
According to the police, all the three relatives are residents of Mazgaon area in Byculla. The police have alleged that the accused were cooperating with the police and were giving shelter to Sanghvi brothers. Rakesh and Aditya were arrested on Saturday night and were released on bail on Sunday, while Mahendra was arrested on Sunday and will be produced in court on Monday. The police are questioning him to zero in on the brothers.
"They were continuously in touch with the main accused over the phone and were guiding them on how to hide. When we asked them about the accused they were trying to distract us and saved the Sanghvi brothers by helping them flee. We have registered a case against the three of them. They gave all possible help to the brothers from appointing lawyers to sending them to different places," said S Jayakumar, Additional Commissioner of Police (Central Zone).
"I am a relative of the owners of '1Above' restaurant. We have no connection with the restaurant. Don't know why we were arrested and I have no idea where the owners are," said Aditya Sanghvi.
The accused have been booked under Sections 216 (harbouring an offender who has escaped from custody or whose apprehension has been ordered) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Meanwhile, the NM Joshi Marg police probing the fire incident has recorded statements of 35 eye-witnesses and have questioned the accused's relatives too. However, they are said to not be co-operating in the investigation. While several policemen from the Central region of the Mumbai police are trying to track the accused, they are still eluding them. In addition, the accused have switched off their phones, which is making tracking them down all the more difficult.
The Sanghvi brothers are likely to file an anticipatory bail application before the court on Monday through their team of advocates.
The massive fire that swept through the pub left 14 people dead and 21 injured. Among those killed was Khushbu Bansali, the woman who was celebrating her 29th birthday.
HUNTING THE ACCUSED
- The police have alleged that the accused, Aditya, Rakesh and Mahendra were not cooperating with the police and were giving shelter to Sanghvi brothers
- They were continuously in touch with the main accused over the phone and were guiding them on how to hide
- According to the police, the owners of 1Above have switched off their mobile phones
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