No respite to Mumbai from fire; three more incidents reported
Mumbai: Three fire incidents were reported since Monday midnight, said a senior fire brigade official, adding to a string of such cases since December 29 when an inferno killed 14 people in a pub here.
However, no casualty was reported in the latest incidents, said the official.
A fire broke out just past midnight in a shop in a chawl in Dockyard Road, Byculla, he said.
"Six fire engines and water tankers were rushed to the spot and they doused the flames in less than two hours (by 2 am)," he said, adding no one was injured.
In the second incident, the fire brigade control room received a call at 10 am about a fire in a ground plus three- storey residential apartment on Juhu Tara Road in suburban Vile Parle.
"Fire brigade personnel immediately rushed to the spot and put out the blaze within 25 minutes," the official said, adding no one was injured.
The third incident was reported in the evening from Amboli Naka in Andheri (West) where a bamboo godown went up in flames, he said.
The blaze was reported at 5.37 pm and five fire engines were rushed to the spot, he said.
"The fire at the bamboo godown has been brought under control," the official said, adding no casualty was reported.
The cause of the fire at all the three places was not yet known.
The financial capital has been hit by a string of fire incidents in the last fortnight.
The deadliest of them was on December 29 when a devastating inferno killed 14 people at an upscale pub in the Kamala Mills Compound.
On January 4, four persons, including two children, were killed and five others seriously injured after an upper floor of a residential building in suburban Marol caught fire.
A 20-year-old man, who worked for a television serial production unit, was killed in a fire at the Cine Vista film studio in suburban Kanjurmarg on January 6.
Yesterday, a fire broke out is the sessions court building in south Mumbai in which some official records were gutted.
Earlier on December 18, 12 labourers were killed in a massive blaze at a snack-making unit in Saki Naka-Kurla.
As the metropolis battles frequent blazes, the fire department urged people and commercial establishments to take preventive measures to avoid such tragedies.
"Safety measures are a must to avoid such incidents.
Apart from taking preventive steps, people should be alert and immediately inform the department about such incidents," said Deputy Chief Fire Officer Kailash Hivrale.
People should keep a watch on electrical wiring in residential buildings and commercial outlets, he said.
Meanwhile, BJP Member of Parliament Kirit Somaiya visited three film and TV studios after the fire at Cine Vista.
He said these studios, located in Kanjurmarg and Bhandup, don't have proper fire fighting systems in place.
"Today, I visited three film and TV studios and found they don't have fire safety systems in place. I told this to the municipal commissioner and demanded strong action against these studios," said the Mumbai North-East MP.
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Ex-Army officer assaulted, robbed at gunpoint by woman he met through matrimonial website
Mathura(UP), Apr 5 (PTI): A retired Army colonel from Haryana has filed a police complaint here, alleging that he was held hostage, assaulted, looted and forced to participate in an "obscene video" at gunpoint with a woman he met through a matrimonial website, police said on Saturday.
The woman from Mathura, who was allegedly in on the plan to rob him, was working with other accomplices, the ex-armyman said in his complaint filed on Thursday.
According to Barsana Station House Officer (SHO) Raj Kamal Singh, Colonel Rajneesh Soni (retired), a resident of Gurugram, reported that he was contacted by a woman from Barsana on a matrimonial website in January. The woman allegedly agreed to marry him, and they began communicating.
The woman allegedly persuaded the colonel to visit Barsana on January 25, requesting that he visit the Radharani temple. When he arrived, she arranged for his stay at a guest house and took him on a tour of the area, including a visit to the temple, the complainant said.
After returning to the guest house, the woman and her accomplices allegedly told the colonel that her brother had been involved in an accident and they needed to leave immediately. They then led him to a waiting car.
"Once outside the town limits, the colonel alleges that he was attacked by the occupants of the car. They seized his phone, physically assaulted him, and forced him to contact relatives and friends to transfer money," the SHO said.
"He was then taken back to the guest house, where he was allegedly forced to participate in obscene videos and photographs at gunpoint. He was threatened that the videos would be made public if he reported the incident," the officer said.
The colonel has alleged that his purse, bag, gold chain, debit card and Rs. 12,000 in cash were stolen from the guest house.
After an unsuccessful attempt at locating the perpetrators himself, the colonel finally reported the incident to the Barsana police two days ago, he said.
"A case has been registered under relevant sections of the BNS and all facts are being investigated. Further action will be taken as per facts found in the investigation," the SHO said.
