Grieving families, friends rally for never-again vow
By Sadaf Modak
After a silent protest outside VB Nagar police station, kin ask police officials why no action was taken against City Kinara restaurant.
Family members of those killed in Friday’s restaurant fire in Kurla approached the police to seek action against municipal authorities who they allege neglected violations in City Kinara.
After a silent protest outside the VB Nagar police station organised by Watchdog Foundation, the family members, including those of Erwin D’souza and Sajid Chaudhary, met ACP (Kurla division) Shrirang Nadgauda and senior police inspector Pravin More. The representatives told the police that the civic body had found that the mezzanine floor of the restaurant was illegal and notices were issued multiple times to the restaurant. Yet the cylinders were never seized or the violations razed, they said.
“On that day, we had visited the hotel but since it was crowded, we left for another hotel nearby. It was a close shave for many of us. But the death of our friends cannot go in vain. We have planned to make a list of such erring restaurants near our college and give it to the police for action,” said Nigel Daniel, a third-year BMM student. “The entire atmosphere in college has changed. We lost our friends who were brilliant students. We cannot allow any more such risks,” he told the police.
Many other students who had planned to join the silent protest outside the police station were held back in college due to their exams.
“We will be conducting a candle night rally on Sunday with students from Don Bosco and other college students from across the city. It will be from City Kinara hotel to Don Bosco College, where the seven were studying,” said Shefali, Aakash Thapar’s cousin.
Meanwhile, the police placed the manager of the restaurant, Sharad Tripathi, under arrest on Monday evening. He will be produced in court on Tuesday.
“We will be investigating into when the cylinders were issued to the hotel and whether he had noticed the leak and had ignored it deliberately,” ACP Nadgauda said.
After a silent protest outside VB Nagar police station, kin ask police officials why no action was taken against City Kinara restaurant.
Family members of those killed in Friday’s restaurant fire in Kurla approached the police to seek action against municipal authorities who they allege neglected violations in City Kinara.
At the forefront of the group was Monica Thapar, sister of Aakash, one of the Don Bosco students who died in the fire. “My brother would not have died if action had been taken against the hotel after the violations. We are emotional at our loss but my brother’s death has also given me the strength to seek justice. We will not let this be forgotten in a few weeks. We want to end this chapter by bringing all the culprits to book,” she said.
After a silent protest outside the VB Nagar police station organised by Watchdog Foundation, the family members, including those of Erwin D’souza and Sajid Chaudhary, met ACP (Kurla division) Shrirang Nadgauda and senior police inspector Pravin More. The representatives told the police that the civic body had found that the mezzanine floor of the restaurant was illegal and notices were issued multiple times to the restaurant. Yet the cylinders were never seized or the violations razed, they said.
“On that day, we had visited the hotel but since it was crowded, we left for another hotel nearby. It was a close shave for many of us. But the death of our friends cannot go in vain. We have planned to make a list of such erring restaurants near our college and give it to the police for action,” said Nigel Daniel, a third-year BMM student. “The entire atmosphere in college has changed. We lost our friends who were brilliant students. We cannot allow any more such risks,” he told the police.
Many other students who had planned to join the silent protest outside the police station were held back in college due to their exams.
“We will be conducting a candle night rally on Sunday with students from Don Bosco and other college students from across the city. It will be from City Kinara hotel to Don Bosco College, where the seven were studying,” said Shefali, Aakash Thapar’s cousin.
Meanwhile, the police placed the manager of the restaurant, Sharad Tripathi, under arrest on Monday evening. He will be produced in court on Tuesday.
“We will be investigating into when the cylinders were issued to the hotel and whether he had noticed the leak and had ignored it deliberately,” ACP Nadgauda said.
