Investigators probing the fire at Malviya Nagar’s B&B Hauz Rani area have identified a series of lapses that they believe were central to the tragedy that claimed 22 lives. According to police, the blaze began after an oil fryer was left switched on while the cook prepared tea for himself, and a delay of nearly 30 minutes before the first emergency call allowed the fire to spread unchecked.
The probe is now focused on the conduct of staff members, the role of those managing the hotel, and the building’s safety compliance. Police have arrested hotel owner Lavkesh Bajaj and cook Keshav Negi, while Bajaj’s close associate and accountant Jay Mishra, 34, has surrendered before a Delhi court and been sent to two days’ police custody.
Investigators are also preparing to seek technical assistance from IIT Delhi to examine how the blaze spread so quickly through the building. The five-storey hotel fire on June 3 killed 22 people, including a 16-year-old girl and foreign nationals from Nigeria, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Congo, Mozambique and Liberia.
COOK ADMITS HE FORGOT TO TURN OFF FRYER
Police said the fire started when Negi switched on a fryer containing oil and then made tea for himself. During questioning, he allegedly told investigators that while drinking tea, he forgot that the fryer was still on. Once the oil reached its auto-ignition temperature, it caught fire, setting the ceiling ablaze before spreading to nearby combustible material. Investigators said the blaze was further fuelled by highly inflammable material, including cartons stored within the premises.
According to investigators, three staff members were in the building when the fire broke out: Negi, a helper who was sleeping on the top floor, and manager Rupesh alias Rakesh. Police said Negi initially tried to put out the flames but fled when the fire went beyond his control. Investigators allege that he did not warn guests, inform neighbours or call emergency services despite having enough time to do so. A source said, “The gap between the first signs of fire and the first call to police was around half an hour. This period is being closely examined because timely evacuation and alerting authorities could have reduced the scale of the tragedy.”
The helper escaped by jumping from the terrace, while Rupesh allegedly fled from the reception area on the ground floor. Police said he is still absconding. Investigators believe the failure of staff members to raise an alarm immediately may have added to the death toll. A Nigerian national undergoing treatment, identified as Okale, died of burn injuries at Safdarjung Hospital on Saturday, taking the number of deaths to 22.
Police have said Bajaj reached the site after the fire had already broken out. They also said that, contrary to some claims, the hotel did not have an electronic gate system. The investigation has been hampered by the destruction of CCTV cameras and footage inside and outside the building. Police said Bajaj owns three hotels in the Hauz Rani area, one of them with a business partner.
ABSCONDED ACCOUNTANT SURRENDERED
Mishra, who had been absconding since the incident, surrendered before Judicial Magistrate Bhanu Pratap Singh and was formally arrested by Delhi Police. According to police, he had earlier been booked in 2024 in connection with the absence of safety and security arrangements at the hotel under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Investigators have also found that several key hotel documents were in his name.
Police sources said Mishra has known Bajaj for nearly a decade and acted as a frontman for several of his business ventures while also handling financial and accounting matters. During questioning, Bajaj allegedly told investigators that he had delegated the hotel’s day-to-day operations to Mishra. Officers are now examining documents, financial records and ownership papers to fix responsibility for the hotel’s functioning and the alleged safety lapses.
Preliminary findings indicate that the building itself may have worsened the disaster. Investigators suspect the structure was built without the required approvals and said the extensive use of wood and plastic decorative material in staircases, ceilings and flooring may have accelerated the spread of the flames. Police are also examining whether the building’s single entry-exit route turned into a trap after filling with dense smoke and heat, preventing guests on the upper floors from escaping.
IIT DELHI TO CARRY OUT PROPAGATION STUDY
Officials said IIT Delhi may be asked to carry out a structural and fire-propagation study, including possible 3D mapping of the gutted building, to reconstruct the sequence of events and identify what trapped the occupants inside. The proposed study is expected to examine burn patterns, damaged staircases, electrical wiring, LPG cylinders, gas pipelines and collapsed structural components to determine how the fire travelled through the hotel and whether architectural deficiencies made the situation worse.
Police said Bajaj and Negi have been arrested, the owner has been booked under charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and several others linked to the establishment are being questioned as investigators await final reports from the Forensic Science Laboratory.
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With inputs from PTI