NEW DELHI, JUNE 4 — A major safety investigation into the deaths of 21 people at a Malviya Nagar bed-and-breakfast widened on Thursday following the arrest of the property owner on culpable homicide charges.
Lavkesh Bajaj, the owner of the Flourish Stay B&B, was taken into custody after Delhi Police revealed the five-story building was operating completely outside of its legal permits. Municipal records show the property was authorized to run a small six-room bed-and-breakfast, but investigators declared that Bajaj had expanded the business to around 25 rooms, including unauthorized units constructed in the basement and on unapproved upper floors.
“The establishment had approval for only six rooms under the Delhi government’s Bed & Breakfast policy but was allegedly running around 25 rooms,” an administrative official maintained during the initial briefing.
The tragedy took a heavy toll on international visitors, claiming the lives of 12 foreign nationals. Many of the deceased had rented rooms at the Malviya Nagar location to remain close to nearby hospitals where their relatives were undergoing medical procedures. Representatives from the Bangladesh High Commission confirmed that five citizens from Bangladesh sustained injuries in the fire.
Emergency officials stated that the fire likely originated from an electrical mishap involving equipment inside a restaurant on the ground floor. Once ignited, the building quickly became a death trap. Fire officials noted that evacuation efforts were heavily compromised by a single entry-exit point, permanently sealed windows, and an automated sensor door that stopped working, keeping the occupants trapped inside as smoke filled the corridors.
Following the incident, Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu mandated an immediate, 30-day inspection campaign across Delhi to identify similar code violations in commercial properties. Municipal teams declared that the crackdown will focus on hotels, nursing homes, and educational coaching centers, while also mapping out congested streets that prevent fire trucks from reaching emergency scenes.
