Hauz Rani fire: Hotel owner arrived at the scene, stood for 15 minutes before fleeing

Owner of the Flourish Stay B&B, where a fire killed 21, arrived at the scene but disappeared after 10-15 minutes, leaving questions unanswered.

Lavkesh Bajaj, the owner of the Flourish Stay B&B where a fire killed 21 people, arrived at the scene while the blaze was raging, and stood there for about 10-15 minutes before disappearing, a local resident said on Thursday.

Accused hotel owner Lavkesh Bajaj (Hindustan Times)

Mohammed Wasim, 37, a resident of Hauz Rani, said he reached the spot around 8.30am and saw smoke billowing from the building. “I called Bajaj at 8:52am and spoke for 26 seconds. I told him the fire was massive. He said he knew. I asked him to come and then hung up,” Wasim said.

Bajaj, he said, arrived about 10 minutes later. “I saw him standing in a white T-shirt. I was busy with rescue operations, so I didn’t go and talk to him, but I know he stayed there for 10-15 minutes,” Wasim added.

According to Wasim and police, Bajaj runs two other B&Bs in the neighbourhood and used to visit the restaurant under the Flourish Stay B&B daily. He previously ran a construction material business.

While Bajaj owned the B&B, his manager Jay Mishra was listed as the owner on the licence and was mandated to stay at the establishment. Police said Mishra – mentioned in court documents as an “accountant” – is absconding along with another man identified as Rakesh. According to court documents, Rakesh is also the manager of the B&B.

Police officials aware of the matter said they have written to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for a structural inspection, and to BSES for an electrical inspection of the building. A forensic team visited the site again on Thursday.

The B&B was permitted to operate only six rooms but was running 25 rooms across multiple floors, with no fire exit. A total of 21 people, including 12 foreigners, died in Wednesday’s fire.