At the stroke of midnight on 29th December 2017, a massive blaze broke out across two restaurants - 1Above and Mojo’s Bistro in Mumbai’s Kamala Mills, claiming 14 lives. Over the last one month, the Mumbai police and BMC established that the fire was sparked by the flying embers from a hookah at Mojo’s Bistro, spread to 1Above and nearly burnt the place to the ground.
The civic body’s findings have prompted a series of arrests - owners of Kamala Mills compound, officials involved in issuing clearances, and finally, owners of the two restaurants who absconded immediately after the tragedy.
Kripesh and Jigar Sanghvi, Abhijeet Mankar, Yug Tuli and Yug Pathak. Over the last one month these five names have been making headlines across the country. They are the owners of the two ill-fated restaurants that were charred in the fire.
TRACING THE OWNERS OF ‘1ABOVE’
KRIPESH AND JIGAR SANGHVI
The Sanghvi brothers, who co-owned 1Above with Abhijeet Mankar, hail from a business background. Moving away from their family business of dabbling in bullion exchange and finance, the duo paired with Mankar to start a company called Sigrid Ospitalita and Entertainment LLP on July 25, 2016. The firm is a Mumbai based Limited Liability Company that began with an initial capital of Rs 1 lakh and has only three partners. Sigrid Ospitalita and Entertainment owns 1Above restaurant. The Sanghvi brothers however, did not just restrict themselves to Sigrid.
Kripesh Mansukhlal Sanghvi is also a founding partner and director at three other companies.
1. Shubh Tradelinks - Another Mumbai registered LLP company, Shubh Tradelinks was founded on July 2, 2016. Apart from Kripesh Sanghvi, the retail trade has two other designated partners - Vishal Jain and Sundesha Champalal.
2. Union Chains and Jewellers Private Limited - This unlisted private company was incorporated in May 1998. Kripesh Sanghvi joined as a director in July 2001. Apart from Sanghvi, the company has four other directors, including his brother Jigar.
3. Jewellery Youth Forum (India) - Registered on January 2, 2018, the Jewellery Youth Forum (India) has 13 directors including Kripesh Sanghvi.
According to police sources, Kripesh and Jigar’s father, Mansukh Sanghvi, is a Dubai based businessman who also owns a jewelry business in Mumbai’s Zaveri Bazaar. Mansukh Sanghvi was investigated by the Enforcement Directorate in 2015 for his alleged involvement in a Rs 5,000 crore hawala racket busted in 2014.
The ED was looking into allegations that claimed Mansukh Sanghvi was transferring money for several hawala operators through his establishments in Dubai. These establishments were allegedly run by his son Ankit Sanghvi. Police sources said that Kripesh and Jigar Sanghvi however, were not involved in the case.
ABHIJEET MANKAR
28-year-old Abhijeet Mankar’s family is based out of Pune. Mankar graduated in BSc from a college in Pune and then trained to be a pilot in Australia, according to police sources. Before co-founding Sigrid Ospitalita and Entertainment, Abhijeet Mankar became a joint director at Arctic Fox Entertainment Private Limited, a private company registered in Pune on January 2014.
Once Mankar absconded after the fire broke out at Kamala Mills, the police questioned his father, a retired Deputy Commissioner of the Women and Child Welfare Department about Mankar’s whereabouts.
A day after the fire engulfed 1Above, the owners of the resto-bar went absconding. This prompted the police to announce a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information on the whereabouts of the Sanghvi brothers and Abhijeet Mankar. Further investigation revealed that the trio had taken shelter at hotelier Vishal Kariya’s residence. The Mumbai police found Mankar’s car at Karia’s residence.
Nearly two weeks after the fire, Kripesh and Jigar Sanghvi and Abhijeet Mankar were arrested from Andheri and Marine Lines areas respectively. The trio are presently in judicial custody after being booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and endangering lives.
MOJO’S BISTRO: WHERE IT ALL STARTED
YUG TULI
With a degree in Hotel Management from Switzerland, 29-year-old Yug Tuli has been involved in other businesses before co-founding Tirupati Restaurant & Café Pvt. Ltd, the company that owns Mojo’s Bistro, with Yug Pathak.
1. Tirupati Restaurants and Cafe Private Limited - Registered in March 2017, this venture owns Mojo’s Bistro in Mumbai’s Lower Parel Area and Vashi in Navi Mumbai. After the fire started from Mojo’s Bistro in Kamala Mills on December 29, investigation into both the restaurants revealed that they were operating without required licenses. According to a report by The Indian Express, Mojo’s Bistro in Navi Mumbai has allegedly been operating without the requisite licences such as trade licence, or a No Objection Certificate from the fire department. Both the outlets have been shut by the civic body as probe continues.
2. Tuli Hospitality Private Limited - Registered on August 1, 2013 in Nagpur, Tuli Hospitality Private Limited has three directors including Yug Tuli- Ravinder Palsingh Tuli and Navjot Kaur Tuli.
3. Rashv Hospitality Private Limited - The private company was registered in Delhi on March 2014. Yug Tuli shares the directorial post with one Jaspreet Singh.
4. Mugshot Hospitality Private Limited - Registered in October 2014, Yug Tuli shares this venture with one Siddharth Chopra. The duo registered their office in Mumbai.
Of all the owners of 1Above and Mojo’s Bistro, Yug Tuli was the last to be arrested by the Mumbai police as he absconded immediately after the fire and evaded the police till January 16, 2018. Tuli had initially been spotted at Hyderabad Airport but before the police could reach the spot, he had disappeared. Finally, on January 16, Tuli surrendered at NM Joshi police station.
YUG PATHAK
26-year-old Yug Pathak, a former law student and son of former Police Commissioner of Pune, was arrested by the Mumbai police on January 6, 2018. Apart from being a co-director at Tirupati Restaurants and Cafe Private Limited, a company that owns Mojo’s Bistro, Pathak is also a joint director at Chemol Organics Private Limited. Chemol was incorporated in September 1996. Pathak has been involved with the company since March 2015.
Police sources say, Pathak was the only one among all the owners who did not abscond and co operated from the beginning of the investigation.
All the five owners have been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and are presently in judicial custody.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)