Narayan Saha in court on Wednesday. Picture by Amit Datta

Narayan Saha, one of the owners of the Sodepur garment shop where 13 people died in a fire over a month ago, has been remanded in judicial custody for five days.

The 62-year-old, arrested a week ago at a city nursing home, was produced in Barrackpore court on Wednesday.

The other accused, Narayan’s brother and co-owner of Readymade Centre, Jibon, is undergoing treatment at another nursing home.

Forty people fell ill and 13 died after a fire broke out in the shop from a welding spark on May 16. Some employees pulled down the shutters of the first-floor showroom, choking the people inside.

Saha has been charged with causing death due to negligence (IPC 304A), culpable homicide not amounting to murder (IPC 304) and negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter (IPC 285). The fire services department is going to charge him for not obtaining the mandatory “no-objection certificate”.

Saha’s lawyers said since he was ailing and needed further medical check-up, the court should grant him bail.

“The jail authorities will arrange for his treatment while he is in custody,” said Himanshu Bhattacharya, the public prosecutor.