A view of the Flourish Stay B&B in south Delhi, where 21 people perished in a fire accident
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
A Delhi court on Saturday (June 6, 2026) sent to two days of police custody the cook of a south Delhi hotel where a devastating fire killed 21 people three days ago.
Judicial Magistrate Bhanu Pratap Singh was hearing Delhi Police’s petition to interrogate cook Keshav Negi for two days and allowed the plea.
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Negi was arrested earlier in the day with investigators alleging that his negligence played a role in triggering Wednesday’s (June 3, 2026) blaze.
Several other individuals connected with the establishment have also been detained and are being questioned as part of the ongoing investigation into the fire at Flourish Stays Bed and Breakfast in Malviya Nagar’s Hauz Rani area.
Hotel owner Lavkesh Bajaj was earlier arrested and booked under charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The building lacked a fire no-objection certificate, officials said.
The blaze ripped through the hotel on Wednesday morning, killing 21 people, including a 16-year-old girl and several foreign nationals from Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Iraq, Congo, Mozambique and Liberia.
Police had earlier arrested hotel owner Lavkesh Bajaj and booked him under charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Investigators are probing whether negligence, violations of fire safety norms and unauthorised alterations to the property contributed to the high death toll.
The investigation has found that the hotel was operating 28 rooms despite permission for only six, according to the FIR registered by Malviya Nagar Police.
Authorities also found alleged deficiencies in fire safety measures and ventilation at the premises. The basement entrance was locked when rescue teams arrived, forcing firefighters to cut open the door during rescue operations, the FIR stated.
Investigators have also focused on Jay Mishra, a long-time associate and accountant of Bajaj, who has been absconding since the incident. Police sources said Mr. Mishra’s name has surfaced in several documents linked to the hotel, and investigators are trying to determine whether he had a larger role in managing the establishment.
Multiple police teams have been formed to trace Mr. Mishra, including one sent to Bihar, where he is originally from.
A preliminary forensic examination has suggested that most victims died due to suffocation rather than burn injuries. Officials also found several fire extinguishers inside the hotel, but they appeared to have remained unused during the emergency.
Forensic experts have collected samples of burnt electrical wiring, electronic devices and other materials from the site. Investigators are examining the possibility of a short circuit, electrical overloading and other technical factors that may have contributed to the blaze.
Police said the questioning of detained persons and hotel employees is expected to help reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the tragedy and establish accountability for one of the deadliest fire incidents in the capital in recent years.
Published – June 06, 2026 11:59 am IST