Days after the three days of deadly fire at a Delhi hotel that claimed the lives of 21 guests, the Delhi Police have arrested the hotel cook Keshav Negi. Negi is a cook at the Flourish Inn Hotel in Malviya Nagar—the place where the fire broke out on Wednesday morning.
The fire claimed the lives of 21 guests, which included nine Indians and 12 foreigners.
The fire, as reported by NDTV, was spread due to the negligence of cook Negi, who, with several others, has been detained in the case. Furthermore, the hotel owner—Lavkesh Bajaj—had been arrested by the police. The report further says that initial investigation highlights that the fire was spread due to the negligence of the cook.
Ahead of the incident, Keshav Negi fled the hotel when fire broke out. He fled to save his life. Meanwhile, Negi also told NDTV that as soon as he turned on the electric stove in the kitchen, the explosion resulted in a massive fire. Furthermore, he highlighted while talking to NDTV that he then turned off the main power switch of the hotel and then ran out amid thick smoke.
Subsequently, the electronic doors of the hotel got locked as Negi switched off the power supply after the stove explosion, the police investigation reveals. Among the dead, a husband and wife were also suffocated to death inside the hotel bathroom as the door got shut and they could not open it. Additionally, others also could not make it out of the hotel as flames engulfed it, the police sources report.
According to reports, a license under the BnB (bed-and-breakfast) scheme, which allows 6 rooms, was issued to the hotel. However, it has 25 rooms, including those in basements.
Alongside killing 21 people, the blaze also injured several others, making it one of the deadliest in the national capital since 2022. The blaze occurred around 8:30 am on Wednesday and quickly caught through the five floors in the building, which had 22 rooms and one entry/exit.
Following the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced compensation of Rs. 200,000 for those who were killed and Rs. 50,000 for those injured.
