A Delhi court has remanded hotel owner Lavkesh Bajaj to four days’ police custody in connection with a devastating fire, which broke out in a hotel at Delhi’s Malviya Nagar area on June 3, claiming 21 lives and leaving several injured.
Judicial Magistrate First Class Bhanu Pratap Singh at the Saket Courts on Thursday allowed the Delhi Police’s application seeking custodial interrogation of the accused, orally observing that the arrest appeared lawful.
A massive fire broke out at the Flourish Stay B&B located in the Hauz Rani area of Malviya Nagar on June 3, resulting in the death of 21 persons, including nationals from African countries and Turkmenistan. According to official records, at least 58 people were rescued from the premises and shifted to hospitals for treatment.
The counsel appearing for the Delhi Police apprised the court that several members of the hotel staff were yet to be examined and that the accused had disclosed only two names during the course of investigation. It was further submitted that custodial interrogation was necessary to ascertain the full extent of the alleged violations and identify other persons involved in the operation and management of the establishment.
The counsel appearing for Bajaj opposed the application and contended that the arrest was illegal. It was argued that neither a copy of the First Information Report nor the grounds of arrest had been supplied to the accused, thereby violating procedural safeguards guaranteed under criminal law.
Bajaj was arrested shortly after the incident. Before his arrest, the Delhi Police had issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) against him and his wife to trace their whereabouts following the fire. An FIR has been registered against the hotel owner under Sections 105 and 326 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, relating to culpable homicide not amounting to murder and mischief by fire or explosive substance causing damage, respectively.
Preliminary findings indicate that the hotel was allegedly operating without a valid fire no-objection certificate (NOC) and was situated in a congested lane with limited access. Authorities have further alleged that although the building had approval for only six rooms, it was being operated with more than 20 rooms and had a single entry-exit point, raising serious concerns regarding compliance with fire safety norms and municipal regulations.
Police said they are conducting the probe from all angles, including to determine whether statutory violations, regulatory lapses and acts of negligence contributed to the tragedy. The agency is also examining the role of other individuals associated with the establishment and the circumstances under which the hotel was allegedly operating beyond its sanctioned capacity.
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