Court remands Pathak to police custody till Jan. 17

Mumbai: A Bhoiwada magistrate court on Friday remanded Yug Pathak, one of the owners of restobar Mojo’s Bistro, in police custody till January 17. Pathak was arrested in the Kamala Mills fire.

Public prosecutor Sanjay Vadhavane argued that Pathak must have known the whereabouts of the pub’s absconding co-owner, Yug Tuli. “We want to confront Tuli and Pathak once the former is arrested,” he said. He also informed the court that the police went to another branch of Mojo’s Bistro at Vashi and conducted searches there. Mr Vadhavane told the court that Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) pertaining to culpable homicide not amounting to murder has been applied on the accused and getting the custody of the accused is the right of investigating agencies.

Senior advocate Rizwan Merchant, who represents Pathak, had argued that the police could not keep him in its custody till Tuli is arrested.

There is a provision in law that if an investigation agency wanted to confront two accused first accused, it can call him again in police custody, he said.

Mr Merchant said, “For six days, the accused had been in the police’s custody and the court must see what investigation it has done so far.”

He further argued that section 304 of the IPC was not applicable against the accused because it is a penal section and to fulfil that, other sections of the IPC must be fulfilled first.

He brought to the notice of the court that the accused should not have been charged under culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

He could have been instead charged under the IPC section related to causing death due to negligence, which involves lesser punishment, he said.