The owner of illegal Delhi bed-and-breakfast (B&B), where a fire killed 21 people on Wednesday, was also arrested last year for allegedly allowing a Bangladeshi woman, her daughter, and her minor grandson to use his residential address to obtain Indian identity documents and facilitating their illegal stay in India, police said on Friday.
Deputy police commissioner (central) Rohit Rajbir Singh said Lavkesh Bajaj knowingly allowed the Bangladeshi nationals to use his address in Delhi’s Chhatarpur Enclave to get passports and Aadhaar cards. He added that Bajaj was arrested after a case of cheating, forgery, and criminal conspiracy was registered against him in January 2025, after the three Bangladeshis were found illegally possessing Indian documents.
Singh cited the investigation in that case and said it showed the Bangladeshis were illegally residing in Paharganj, using fraudulently obtained Indian identity documents. He said it was established that one of them obtained an Indian passport by furnishing Bajaj’s address.
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“Bajaj was taken into custody and interrogated. He was arrested after his role in the cheating and forgery was established. The Bangladeshi woman and her daughter were also arrested. Upon completion of the investigation, a charge sheet was filed before the city court against the three accused,” said Singh. He added that a report was submitted in respect of the Bangladeshi minor for legal action as per the law.
{{/usCountry}}“Bajaj was taken into custody and interrogated. He was arrested after his role in the cheating and forgery was established. The Bangladeshi woman and her daughter were also arrested. Upon completion of the investigation, a charge sheet was filed before the city court against the three accused,” said Singh. He added that a report was submitted in respect of the Bangladeshi minor for legal action as per the law.
{{/usCountry}}On Wednesday, Bajaj was arrested hours after the blaze at the B&B killed 21 people and injured 21. The fire began in the kitchen of the restaurant at the facility on the ground floor. An HT investigation found on Thursday that Bajaj did not have a licence to run a restaurant. He only possessed a “tea and snacks outlet” licence that did not allow any cooking or seating. Even this tea-and-snacks licence expired on March 31 this year. Bajaj applied for a licence renewal on Wednesday, hours after the fire was reported. The request was rejected.