Thirteen persons, including three children, died at the restaurant on October 4 when a gas cylinder exploded, leaving them trapped on the mezzanine.

Those arrested today include Chief Fire Officer Waman Gangurde, Ward Offcier Ramkrishna Patil, Food Inspector Divakar Kamble and a clerk in the Anti-Encroachment section of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), Ranchandra Lanjhekar. Offences have been registered under Sections 337, 285 and 304 (a) of the Indian Penal Code.

Among the charges are negligence and failure to adhere to prescribed procedures causing insufficient ventilation and failure to follow safety norms.

The food inspector had allegedly failed to comply with instructions issued by the municipal commissioner in 1994, despite aninspection of the premises. The eaterie was not properly venitlated and did not have an independent kitchen.

The chief fire officer too had been instructed to carry out an inspection of various restaurants in Thane on September 30. However, he too gave the restaurant the green signal.

The TMC had already instituted an inquiry against Gangurde, while Patil has been suspended. Patil was allegedly aware of the illegal construction in the restaurant but ignored it while Lanjhekar allegedly furnished false documents showing that the structure was authorised.

Those arrested earlier are: Devendra Wadhwa (owner of Lake View), Dungrashe Harka Gala, Jayantilal Ranalal Thakkar, Baburam Tomlal Sharma, Punaram Chandra Bahadur, Vishnu Hariyal, Sunil Shetla, Mohan Mishra, Kapil Patra and Mohan Bisht.