Malviya Nagar Hotel Fire: Delhi Court Sends Owner Lavkesh Bajaj To 4-Day Police Custody After 21 Deaths
Saket Court granted bail to cook Kesar Negi in the Malviya Nagar hotel fire case that claimed 22 lives, observing that the prosecution failed to justify his continued custodial detention
A Delhi court on Thursday remanded hotel owner Lavkesh Bajaj to four days of police custody in connection with the devastating fire at a guest house in South Delhi's Malviya Nagar that claimed 21 lives and left several others injured.
Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Bhanu Pratap Singh of the Saket Courts allowed the Delhi Police's plea seeking custodial interrogation of Bajaj, the owner of Flourish Stay B&B, where the blaze broke out on Wednesday morning.
The court orally observed that the arrest appeared to be legal while granting police custody.
During the hearing, Delhi Police submitted that the investigation was at a preliminary stage and several members of the hotel staff were yet to be examined. The prosecution told the court that the accused had disclosed only two names so far and that further custodial interrogation was necessary to ascertain the full chain of responsibility behind the incident.
Bajaj's counsel opposed the remand plea, arguing that the arrest was illegal as the accused had not been supplied a copy of the FIR and the grounds of arrest.
The hotel owner was arrested hours after the fire engulfed the guest house located in the congested Hauz Rani area of Malviya Nagar. Following the incident, Delhi Police had issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) against Bajaj and his wife to trace their whereabouts.
An FIR has been registered under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 326(g) (mischief by fire), 324(5) (wrongful damage to property), 125(a) and 125(b) (negligent acts endangering life and causing grievous hurt), and Section 287 relating to negligent conduct with respect to fire.
According to officials, at least 58 people were rescued from the building and shifted to nearby hospitals. Twenty-one victims were declared dead. Several of those killed or injured were foreign nationals, including citizens from African countries and Turkmenistan, who were reportedly staying at the hotel while attending to relatives undergoing medical treatment in Delhi.
Preliminary findings have revealed serious violations at the establishment. Authorities informed that the building had approval for only six rooms but was allegedly operating more than 20 rooms. The hotel was also functioning without a fire No Objection Certificate (NOC) and reportedly had only a single entry and exit point, raising concerns over safety compliance and emergency evacuation measures.
Bench: Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Bhanu Pratap Singh