Carpenter dies in banquet hall fire in Moti Nagar

Police suspect a short circuit may have triggered the blaze, but said the exact cause will be confirmed after an electrical inspection.

The charred remains of a 40-year-old man were recovered from the Golden Royale Banquet Hall in west Delhi’s Moti Nagar, where a major fire broke out on Monday night. Police suspect a short circuit may have triggered the blaze, but said the exact cause will be confirmed after an electrical inspection.

Video shot by bystanders from the main road showed the entire building engulfed in flames on Monday night. (ANI Grab)

The deceased has been identified as Rajesh Sharma, a resident of Uttam Nagar and a carpenter working at the banquet hall at the time of the incident. According to police, Sharma and another worker, Vipin (single name), were on the second floor when the fire spread. While Vipin managed to escape by jumping off the building, Sharma was trapped and could not be rescued.

“It’s a two-storey banquet hall with a mezzanine floor. Both men were working on the second floor when the blaze broke out. Vipin jumped from the side of the building, but Sharma couldn’t make it out,” a senior police officer said.

The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said the fire began around 8.30pm. A call was made to the fire control room at 8.47pm by passersby who saw flames engulfing the structure. “It was a massive fire. Eighteen fire tenders were rushed to the spot initially, followed by six more,” said DFS director Atul Garg.

Videos shot by bystanders from the main road show the entire building engulfed in smoke and flames. Officials said the hall was empty of guests at the time, and those rescued were all staff members.

“The fire was brought under control within two hours but completely doused around 3am. Cooling operations continued through the night. The man’s body was recovered early Tuesday morning once teams were able to enter the structure safely,” said a fire official.

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