Two absconding accused nabbed 11 months after Tilak Nagar fire

Almost 11 months after the Tilak Nagar fire that claimed the lives of five senior citizens, two absconding partners of Reliance Realtors were arrested and produced in court on Thursday, an official here said. Five senior citizens were killed and two were injured in a fire in Sargam Housing Society in the eastern suburb of Tilak Nagar on December 27, 2018.

An FIR was registered against the three partners of Reliance Realtors namely Akash Kothari, Hemedra Haridas Mapara and Subhak Jamnadas Mapara for allegedly failing to get a no objection certificate from the fire department, an official said. While Kothari was arrested in January this year, the Mapara duo was absconding from the time of the incident, he added.

Acting on a tip-off, the police arrested the accused from Valsad in Gujarat and produced them in court, where they sent to police custody till November 6, he said. The accused have been charged under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life) and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Sunita Joshi (72), Bhalchandra Joshi (72), Suman Shrinivas Joshi (83), Sarala Suresh Gangar (52) and Laxmiben Premji Gangar (83) were killed in the blaze, which also caused property loss of over Rs 52 lakh. The accused developers had allegedly failed to get required clearances before handing over flats to the buyers, an official said, adding that the firefighting system in the housing complex was also not operational..