Malviya Nagar fire: Court extends judicial custody of hotel owner Bajaj, 2 others till July 6

Duty Judicial Magistrate First Class (Duty JMFC) Ankita Bhatia extended the judicial custody of all three accused persons till July 6. Accsued were produced before the court through video conferencing after expiry of judicial custody.

Delhi police moved an application seeking extension of Judicial custody, saying that the investigation is going on and further Judicial custody of the accused persons is required.

Earlier, on June 8, the court had rejected the bail plea of accused Keshav Negi, the cook of the Malviya Nagar hotel Flourish Stay, where a fire broke out. Negi was arrested by the Delhi police on June 7.

Accused Jay Mishra, who has been dubbed the accountant of Flourish Hotel, surrendered before the court on June 8.

Mishra had allegedly been absconding since June 3, the day of the tragic incident that killed atleast 22 persons.

Three persons have been made accused in the case, including the owner of the Hotel, Lavkesh Bajaj and a cook, Keshav Negi.

In this tragic incident, 22 people, including foreigners, died after a fire broke out in the hotel.

Earlier, during the course of the investigation, authorities allegedly uncovered multiple safety violations and serious deficiencies in the building's fire safety infrastructure.

According to sources, the windows and glass panels of the building were completely sealed, leaving no outlet for smoke to escape. Investigators also found that the entrance to the basement was locked from the inside. It reportedly took rescue teams nearly 10 minutes to gain access to the basement, from where six to seven people were subsequently rescued.

The investigation has further revealed that the building lacked adequate ventilation arrangements and did not have an emergency exit gate. According to sources, these shortcomings allowed smoke to rapidly spread throughout the structure, trapping occupants inside and significantly hampering evacuation efforts. (ANI)