New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI): Delhi Police has widened its probe into the devastating fire at a south Delhi hotel that killed 21 people on Wednesday, with investigators examining alleged safety violations, unauthorised expansion of rooms and the role of an absconding accountant who may have been closely involved in the operations of the establishment, sources said on Friday.
The investigation has found that the Flourish Stays B&B in Malviya Nagar was operating 28 rooms despite permission for only six, lacked adequate ventilation and had a locked basement entrance that firefighters were forced to cut open during the rescue operations, according to the police FIR in the case.
As scrutiny over the hotel’s functioning intensifies, police have now focused on Jay Mishra, a long-time associate of arrested hotel owner Lavkesh Bajaj.
Mishra has been absconding since the fire tragedy, and his name has appeared in several documents linked to the establishment.
The blaze ripped through the hotel located in Hauz Rani in Malviya Nagar on Wednesday morning, killing 21 people, including a 16-year-old girl and several foreign nationals from Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Iraq, Congo, Mozambique and Liberia.
Police have arrested hotel owner Bajaj and are probing whether negligence, violations of safety norms and unauthorised alterations to the property contributed to the high death toll.
According to sources, investigators have found key hotel-related documents in Mishra’s name and records of another hotel allegedly linked to him.
Police are now trying to ascertain whether he functioned merely as an accountant or had a larger role in the management and day-to-day operations of the business.
Mishra, originally from Bihar, had been working with Bajaj for nearly 15 years and was residing in Rajpur Khurd in south Delhi.
Preliminary inquiries suggest that he was drawing a monthly salary of around Rs 18,000. Multiple police teams have been formed to trace him, including one sent to Bihar.
Investigators believe that Mishra may possess crucial information regarding the hotel’s finances, staff appointments, guest records, regulatory clearances and operational control.
According to the FIR registered by Malviya Nagar police under charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, authorities found glaring lapses during an inspection of the premises after the fire incident.
The FIR said the hotel lacked proper fire safety arrangements and ventilation. The basement entrance was found locked, forcing rescue teams to cut open its door to gain access.
Sources said the establishment had 28 rooms despite permission for only six, and at least 18-19 rooms were occupied when the fire broke out.
A preliminary forensic examination indicated that most victims appeared to have died due to suffocation rather than burn injuries.
Officials also found three to four fire extinguishers inside the hotel, but all of them were intact, suggesting that they may not have been used during the emergency.
On Friday, a forensic team spent more than four hours at the site collecting samples of burnt electrical wires, electronic devices and other materials.
Investigators are examining the possibility of a short circuit, electrical overloading and other technical causes behind the blaze.
Police are also preparing a list of hotel employees and support staff who are likely to be questioned in the coming days.
Their statements are expected to help investigators reconstruct the sequence of events and understand how the hotel was being run, sources said.
The probe has also brought Bajaj’s past legal troubles into attention.
Police records show that he was arrested last year in a case involving alleged facilitation of illegal stay for Bangladeshi nationals through fraudulently obtained Indian identity documents.
A chargesheet was filed against Bajaj and the other accused in that case. PTI SSJ BM ARI
(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)