Mumbai, May 11: The managements of Dreams Mall and Sunrise Hospital, where a fire killed 11 COVID-19 patients on March 26, did not take necessary precautions about safety of the premises and they must be held responsible for the tragedy, said a BMC-appointed panel in its probe report. The probe committee of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) recommended cutting water and power supply of the mall and filing a criminal case against the owners and directors of the commercial establishment and Sunrise Hospital.
The three-storeyed Dreams Mall in located in suburban Bhandup and also houses Sunrise Hospital. Mumbai municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal on Tuesday accepted the probe report submitted by deputy municipal commissioner Prabhat Rahangdale last week.
Chahal directed authorities concerned to submit an action taken report on the panel’s findings within a month. A massive fire broke out at the mall on March 26 and it took the fire brigade more than 12 hours to douse the flames. Eleven COVID-19 patients, who were being treated at Sunrise Hospital located on the third floor, died in the fire.
The panel was formed by the BMC to look into the causes of the fire. The administrations of the mall and Sunrise Hospital did not take necessary precautions about fire safety, the probe panel noted.
It proposed police action against the owner/managers of the mall and hospital, “holding (them) responsible for the tragedy” since they did not take any corrective action despite repeated warnings from the civic authorities. It is recommended to cut off water and electricity supply of the mall and file a criminal case against the owners and directors of Dreams Mall and Sunrise Hospital since they are to be blamed for the fire incident, the report said.
The panel proposed that civic officials file a police complaint against a private agency, Pona Corporation, which had allegedly given a false fire audit report. The report said the agency had submitted a report saying that firefighting equipment of the mall were operational, and all compliances were made for the period between July 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020.
However, on the day of the fire, none of the firefighting equipment were working, it noted. The report proposed a departmental probe against assistant divisional fire officer Rajendra Ghadge, who had issued a notice to the mall for non-compliance of fire safety system in November 2020, but later on accepted compliance documents submitted by the establishment without physical inspection.
The report also recommended a departmental inquiry again the then chief fire officer (administration) Shashikant Kale for violating a fire brigade order. According to the 2018 order, a notice issued to any establishment for non-compliance of fire safety norms should be signed by the chief fire officer.
The report said Kale had orally asked officers to send notices with their signatures without taking approval from the municipal commissioner, which was a violation of the 2018 order.
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