As the investigation into the fire at an eatery in Delhi's Malviya Nagar continues, the spotlight has turned onto its owner and his two other business partners.
The police on Wednesday identified the owner of the Flourish Stay B&B as Lokesh Bajaj, a businessman who has allegedly been involved in the hospitality business for quite some time.
Bajaj and his two business partners reportedly own a number of other hotels and guest houses in Delhi, all of which are being investigated by the authorities.
This comes as at least 21 people, including foreigners, have died in the fire so far, with several others suffering severe burn injuries.
Though the cause of the blaze at the bed-and-breakfast hotel in Hauz Rani is not known yet, the police have found out that it allegedly violated a number of safety regulations, which helped the fire spread.
Flourish Stay B&B allegedly had over 25 rooms—with some even in the basement—despite getting a B2B licence for just six rooms, local media reports said.
“The fire department had no record of a fire safety certificate being issued to this building," Delhi Chief Fire Officer Abhilash Malik told reporters.
The building also had just one exit, which made it difficult for people to be evacuated, while its outer gate had also been locked.
The issue also quickly became politicised, with AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj questioning why the local fire station, reportedly located just "3 mins away from this fire", took time to respond.
"Locals informed Fire-brigades reached '45 mins' late. Locals had to spread the mattresses to rescue foreign nationals," he alleged in an X post.
He also claimed that the power supply to the area was not shut in time.
