Nearly three months after a massive fire at a bed and breakfast in south Delhi’s Hauz Rani left 23 people dead, Delhi Police on Tuesday submitted a 1,500 page chargesheet in the case to a court, said investigators aware of the matter.
Without giving details, deputy commissioner of police (south) Anant Mittal confirmed the development. Together, these violations created conditions that turned a fire into one of Delhi’s deadliest fire disasters in recent years. The flames intensified after the LPG hose pipe caught fire, causing a gas leak that rapidly spread smoke through the ground, first and second floors. Police have also mentioned that Bajaj visited the spot at the time of the incident and left within minutes and that Negi switched on the electric air fryer before attending to other work and later noticed flames near the appliance.
The B&B was permitted to operate only six rooms but was running 31 rooms across four storeys, a basement and the roof, with no fire exit. The incident killed 23 people, including foreign nationals, many of whom were in Delhi for medical treatment. In the exact sequence of events established so far, police said the fire broke out in the kitchen near an electric air fryer around 8.30am. Witnesses told investigators that emergency calls were made between 8.15am and 8.45am, while fire tenders reached the building between 9.15am and 9.30am.
An officer asking not to be named said that the charge sheet has been filed against Lovkesh Bajaj, the owner of Flourish Stay B&B, manager and accountant Jay Mishra, and cook Keshav Negi under section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 326(g) (pertaining to mischief involving fire or explosive substances causing damage), 324(5) (pertaining to mischief causing damage), 125(a) and 125(b) (acts endangering the life or personal safety of others where hurt or grievous hurt is caused), and 287 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). On June 3, the fire broke out around 8.30am on the ground-floor where a full-fledged restaurant had been operating despite permission only to run a tea-and-snack outlet.
