Thane, Jul 2 (PTI) The woman owner of a warehouse in Maharashtra’s Thane district, where a blaze destroyed multiple similar facilities in its vicinity last month, has sought anticipatory bail, blaming the district administration for “lapses” in enforcing fire safety norms.
The fire at the warehouse in the Bhiwandi area on June 14 had raged for nearly 24 hours and also resulted in the death of a person due to an explosion.
Police on June 16 booked the warehouse owner under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections, including 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 287 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible mattter) and 288 (negligent conduct with respect to explosive substances).
When the woman’s pre-arrest bail plea came for hearing before Additional District Judge N K Karande on Wednesday, her lawyer Vikas Patil-Shirgaonkar said the district administration was equally responsible for the large-scale devastation.
Citing Section 55 of the Disaster Management Act, Patil-Shirgaonkar argued that the district collector failed to issue necessary safety-related orders. He also claimed that the officially notified fire safety norms were not enforced locally, which significantly contributed to the scale of the disaster.
Section 55 of the Disaster Management Act deals with offences committed by government departments during a disaster.
Patil-Shirgaonkar said the warehouse lawfully stored furniture, chemicals, motor vehicles, gas, oil, and textile-related goods and that the fire was just an accident. He also alleged that the police misused their authority and applied a non-bailable section against the warehouse owner, who has “no criminal background and poses no risk of absconding or tampering with evidence”.
After the proceedings, the court reserved its decision on the bail plea.