Bhandup mall fire: Now, NCLT administrator booked over blaze

Nearly three months after 11 Covid19 patients were killed in a fire at Sunrise Hospital in Bhandup the police have booked the administrator of Dreams Mall which housed the medical facility saying he knew about the mallrsquos inactive firefighting system but made no attempts to fix it The NCLTappointed official says he alerted the BMC about safety risks The police added they havenrsquot yet given a clean chit to the mall owner or hospital authoritiesThe fireravaged HDIL Dreams Mall at Bhandup The blaze started on the first floor and spread to the third floor that housed the hospital PicRajesh GuptaThere were 78 Covid19 patients at Sunrise Hospital when a fire tore through Dreams Mall on the night of March 25 The hospital staff and rescuers moved 67 patients to safety but the rest died of suffocation A preliminary probe had shown that the mall didnrsquot have the Occupation Certificate and the hospital had been handed a fire NOC without mandatory checksThe Bhandup police had registered a case against 6 people including directors of HDIL the mall owner and the hospital The alleged role of the administrator Rahul Sahastrabuddhe who has been appointed by the National Company Law Tribunal NCLT apparently emerged later Sources said his name was added in the FIR last weekSources said Pona Corporation a governmentapproved fire audit firm had given a fake fire audit certificate to the hospital despite knowing that Dreams Mallrsquos fire apparatus was defunct Sunrise used the certificate to get an NOC from the Mumbai Fire Brigade The police had arrested Haresh Joshi of Pona Corporation on May 6 along with George Putthu Seri the CEO of Privilege Healthcare that owns the hospital over the alleged fire safety violations Both are in jailRahul Sahasrabuddhe the NCLTappointed administratorldquoFurther investigation revealed that Rahul Sahastrabuddhe the administrator appointed by NCLT knew that the firefighting system of the mall was not working He did nothing to fix it When the Fire Brigade wrote to him about the same in November 2020 he acknowledged the inactiveness of the system toordquo said a police officer who did not wish to be named DCP Zone 7 Prashant Kadam confirmed the development but refused to disclose any more details about the alleged role of the administratorlsquoHave no idea about the FIRrsquoSahasrabuddhe said he had no clue about his name being added to the FIR He told midday ldquoI donrsquot know about me being framed as an accused According to the NCLT I have immunity from any such action If this has happened I will have to checkrdquo The police had earlier summoned Sahasrabuddhe for investigation following which he had moved the Bombay High Court saying he had warned the BMC and fire officials about various gaps His petition will be heard on June 24Legal expertrsquos takeLegal experts said resolution professionals do not enjoy a blanket immunity though Section 233 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 grants them protection for all actions taken in good faith ldquoGenerally once a company goes in for the IBC process there may not be an adequate source of income for proper maintenance of properties Hence if a resolution professional is able to prove good faith or bona fide intentions for his actions the court may grant him immunityrdquo said Makarand Joshi founding partner MMJC and Associates LLPHospital still under probeSunrise Hospital authorities have told the police that the fire started on the first floor of the mall and reached the third floor where the hospital was located In such a situation they said the hospital could not be held responsible The hospital has also claimed that its staff acted in a timely manner ensuring minimum casualties Sources said the police however have not dropped the investigation against Sunrise