New Delhi: In its 1,500-page chargesheet filed against three people in connection with the 3 June Malviya Nagar B&B fire, the Delhi Police has claimed that the blaze started due to cook Kesar Negi’s “negligence”.
“The fire started when the electric stove burst out in flames on being turned on by Negi which eventually spread to the rest of the building,” said a police officer in the know.
The fire had killed 22 people and injured 36 others at Hotel Flourish Stays. The police have named the owner Lovkesh Bajaj, manager cum accountant Jay Mishra, and Negi in the chargesheet filed Tuesday.
On 28 July, the Saket court had granted bail to Negi. The order had said: “…merely because the applicant (Negi) was present in the kitchen and was performing his assigned duties cannot be equated with criminal negligence or with responsibility for the safety of the entire hotel.”
Bajaj who is in judicial custody, is currently in hospital. Mishra was produced before the court for judicial custody, the police officer quoted earlier said.
The Malviya Nagar fire chargesheet, which has testimonies of over 130 witnesses, was filed before duty magistrate Areeba Khan and has been listed for consideration on 3 September before Saket court.
The three accused have been booked under sections related to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, usage of fire or explosives to destroy a building, mischief, and negligence endangering human life, the police officer told ThePrint.
“A preliminary technical report in connection with the fire has been accessed, but the final FSL report is awaited,” the police officer added.
The police also stated in the chargesheet that while Bajaj was the owner of the property, the B&B was registered in Mishra’s name. “The two accused used it as a front to get permits for their properties and Mishra had suggested the expansion of the property,” another police officer told ThePrint on condition on anonymity.
The fire that broke on 3 June at around 8.30 am first started in the basement of the Flourish Inn and later spread to several floors of the building. According to the Delhi Police, the B&B did not possess a fire NOC and despite was functioning with 24 rooms despite having 6-room permit.
The chargesheet also mentions that Bajaj had applied for a hotel licence two years ago but his application was “rejected for having a single entry and exit point and for not having a fire exit”, said the police officer.
“Bajaj did not reapply for a licence and instead operated under the B&B framework,” he further said, adding that Bajaj and Mishra produced a false affidavit claiming that the latter stayed at the premises, in order to obtain a B&B licence. “Mishra’s affidavit was incorrect. He was not residing at the spot when he sought permission to operate a B&B.”
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)