Juhu fire: Nab culprits, pay Rs 50 lakh to kin of the deceased, says NGO

Fire brigade personnel during rescue operations at Prarthana building. File pics

Barely a week since a massive blaze, caused by a gas cylinder explosion, claimed six lives in the under constru­ction Prarthana building, an NGO has demanded the harshest punishment for the builders as well as Rs 5 lakh compensation for the kin of the deceased.

Five labourers and a child were killed in the fire last Wednesday. Police sources had said that the blaze was confined to the ground floor, where scrap material had been stored. The labourers were housed in the stilt portion in 15 -17 makeshift residences.

In a letter to authorities at Juhu police station, the NGO, The Watchdog Foundation, has urged the cops to expedite the investigation process and arrest the builders for culpable homicide, not amounting to murder.

The NGO alleged in the letter that "material deviation was intentionally withheld" since there was "a criminal conspiracy hatched between the owner, the developer, the architect and the license surveyor".

Around 11 people were hurt

"We, therefore, demand that every angle of this particular case be investigated. The roles of the owner, the developer, the architect and the license surveyor and their culpability should be ascertained," the letter read. "We also demand compensation up to R50 lakh each as ex-gratia for the relatives of those who lost their lives in the blaze."

The NGO has pledged to move the Maharashtra Lokayukta if its demands are not met. "If our request for an impartial probe is not acceded, we will approach the Maharashtra Lokayukta to seek justice for those affected in the Prarthana building tragedy," the NGO has stated.