In a major fire accident in IT-city Bengaluru, a local bar located in the heart of city was gutted killing five employees inside. The bar and restaurant located at the heart of the city in Kalasipalya, in the market area went up in flames early on Monday killing five employees who were sleeping. Fire service personnel, who arrived at the scene around 3 am, found five bodies inside the toilet.
According to MN Reddi, Director General of Fire Services the five men who were sleeping in the bard seem to have tried to escape the blaze and closeted themselves in the washroom.
He said, “They all died of asphyxia as one of them sustained minor burns.” The bar was located on the mezzanine floor of the old building was gutted within minutes, obviously due to the presence of alcohol.
The dead were identified as Swamy, Mahesh, Manjunath, Keerthi and Prasad. Aged between 23 and 45, the men were from nearby districts. Police arrested the bar owner and licensee V Dayashankar and booked him for criminal negligence leading to loss of lives.
According to fire officials the bar had no exhaust vents, or fire extinguishers — both mandatory for a bar license —and had just one narrow staircase. “Even from a labour standpoint it was a total violation to permit workers sleep inside the bar,” said Reddi.
Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy said strict action would taken against the bar owner and the probe would determine how a bar was allowed to function without basic safety measures. “The city corporation, excise department, fire department, police are among the agencies that come into the picture. Once they finish their investigations, the Government will take necessary actions to prevent such incidents,” said Reddy.
“From what I see, the employees were not supposed be at the bar so late. It is the proprietor’s responsibility to ensure they have a place to sleep or at least they don’t sleep inside the bar. The investigation will look at all angles,” he said when asked if the bar was open for business.
The Government announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the dead men.
This incident comes a few days after authorities surveyed high-end pubs and roof-top restaurants in some of the upscale areas of Bengaluru where they found gross violation of law.