Mumbai, January 10: In a new development, Juhu-based hotelier Vishal Kariya has been arrested for sheltering three owners of 1 Above pub in connection with the Kamala Mills fire. A case under Section 216 of Indian Penal Code has been lodged against Kariya. He will be produced before the Bhoiwada Court on Wednesday. As per reports, the Mumbai Police have recovered a high-end car of accused Abhijeet Mankar from the Juhu residence of Kariya (42) and picked him up for questioning. Reports further inform that the hotelier revealed that he sheltered the trio -Kripesh Sanghvi, Jigar Sanghvi and Mankar– at his residence.

Meanwhile, accused and one of the owners of Mojo Bistro, Yug Tulli was spotted at Hyderabad airport few days back. The airport authorities intimated Mumbai police about the same. Later, search operations were conducted in Hyderabad by local police. The police, however, did not find him. Yug Tulli, a Nagpur-based businessman is an absconding co-owner of the Mojos Bistro pub in the Kamala Mills compound. Tulli, on Tuesday, filed a pre-arrest bail application before a Mumbai sessions court. A sessions court on Tuesday posted to January 11 the hearing of the anticipatory bail application filed by Yug Tulli, an absconding co-owner of the Mojos Bistro pub in the Kamala Mills compound.

As per PTI reports, the pub owners Hitesh Sanghvi, Jigar Sanghvi and Abhijeet Mankar, continue to evade arrest despite the police widening its dragnet and issuing lookout notices for them even after two weeks after the fire tragedy. To recall, police had arrested Sanghvi brothers’ uncle Rakesh Sanghvi and cousin Aditya Sanghvi, both residents of Mazgaon in south Mumbai, for allegedly sheltering them on January 1. The duo was later released on bail by a local court.

Police on Tuesday arrested Vishal Kariya, who owns hotels and pubs in the city, after questioning him in connection with the whereabouts of the trio.  "Vishal Kariya, who owns hotels and pubs in the city, was placed under arrest after a team of N M Joshi Marg Police picked him for questioning," Deputy Commissioner of Police Akhilesh Mishra told PTI.

As the police investigated the matter, it was found that 42-year-old Kariya had sheltered the three owners at his residence. The Sanghvi brothers and Mankar are absconding since December 29 when the fire swept through the 1 Above pub and the adjacent Mojos Bistro resto-pub in Kamala Mills compound in central Mumbai.

In a related development, the Bombay High Court, while hearing a PIL, today said that authorities must ensure that norms are followed when giving clearances for commercial establishments. The PIL filed by former Mumbai police commissioner Julio Ribeiro seeks a judicial inquiry into the December 29 incident and also a direction to the government and the civic body to carry out a fire safety audit of all eateries and restaurants in the metropolis. "The court should set up a judicial commission for fixing up the accountability of public officers and private persons involved in the tragic incident," the PIL said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 10, 2018 06:38 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).