Jhandwal arrested and released on bail

Mumbai, July 17 (UNI) Former Chief fire officer A D Jhandwal was today arrested for issuing of NOC (No-objection certificate) to a developer without ascertaining whether the place had the necessary equipment for fire safety.

Mr Jhandwal, who appeared before the Metropolitan Magistrate court, Bandra, was later released on bail of Rs 10,000 and after paying a penalty of Rs 2,000.

A resident of the building in Mahim Nandana Kosotia had filed a private complaint naming Jhandwal, who allegedly gave NOC to the developer of the building, without inspecting whether the place had fire safety equipment.

Despite summons issued by the court, he had failed to appear before the court. On July 7, this year, the court had issued warrant against Jhandwal and he appeared in court today.

The residents had found out through an RTI query in 2006 that Jhandwal had issued the building a certificate, stating that it has the 50,000-litre capacity underground water storage tank for fire fighting, a proper fire siren and proper water supply. However, Kasotia said that the building had none of these fire safety measures in place.

A case under section 420 (cheating) and 337 (causing hurt by endangering life) of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) has been registered against him.

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