- Monday, April 28, 2025
The firefighters could douse the blaze at Enforcement Directorate’s office building in Mumbai after a sustained operation lasting 12 hours
By: India Weekly
A MASSIVE blaze broke out at the Enforcement Directorate’s office building in Mumbai early Sunday, and the firefighters could extinguish it only after 12 hours, officials said.
According to Mumbai Fire Brigade the fire at Kaiser-I-Hind building in Ballard Estate area was doused around 2:10pm after a sustained operation of 12 hours during which eight fire engines, six jetties, water tankers and other equipment were deployed.
As it was a holiday, there were no casualties.
The fire, which broke out on the fourth floor of the five-storey building housing the Enforcement Directorate office and a major damage was reported to office infrastructure, including computers and documentation.
The office had stored records related to several high-profile cases, including those of fugitive businessmen Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi, as well as Maharashtra politicians Chhagan Bhujbal and Anil Deshmukh, Times of India reports.
The officials said they are assessing the extent of the damage.
Ravindra Ambulgekar, chief fire officer of Mumbai Fire Brigade told PTI that the fire was confined to the fourth floor and mezzanine floor of the building, but the presence of files and furniture intensified it.
He said due to poor ventilation at the ED office the smoke got clogged inside the building, which in turn posed great difficulties to firefighters during entry.
Firefighters had to break down doors and smash windows to gain entry into the structure, Ambulgekar said.
The fire department is probing the cause of the fire.
Choksi was arrested by the Belgian authorities arrested last week based on an extradition request moved by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the ED.
The 65-year-old diamond merchant is wanted in India for his involvement in the ₹138.5 billion (£1.22bn) Punjab National Bank loan “fraud” case.
