HYD Fire : Owner of godown arrested

Police today arrested the owner of a godown shed in connection with Sunday's fire at a residential apartment near Manikonda on Hyderabad outskirts.

The fire, which broke out at the shed and spread to the building, had claimed eight lives, including that of a 10-day-old boy.

Vijay Kumar, the shed owner against whom Narsingi police had registered a case, was arrested here and remanded in judicial custody, a senior police officer said. The shed, erected for a TV serial shoot, was adjacent to an apartment complex at Puppalguda. On the night of November 25, fire broke out when some plastic material dumped near the film and TV serial shooting sets caught fire inside the shed, and engulfed three floors of the adjacent complex.

Police had registered a case under sections 304A (causing death by negligence), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and section 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) of IPC against Vijay. Taking notice of newspaper reports, Andhra Pradesh Lokayukta Justice B Subhashan Reddy had asked authorities to file Action Taken Report (ATRs) by November 30. Andhra Pradesh government has already directed the State Disaster Response and Fire Services Department to conduct an inquiry.

- PTI