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Delhi fire news: FIR filed, govt says 'guilty won't be spared' after fire at Malviya Nagar BnB kills 21
The blaze erupted at the Flourish Stay B&B in Hauz Rani, which is a congested locality in Malviya Nagar, on Wednesday morning.
Following the deadly fire in Delhi's Malviya Nagar, an FIR has been filed under charges of culpable homicide, officials said on Wednesday. At least 21 people were killed in a fire at a bed-and-breakfast building on Wednesday.
As per officials, around 18 of the deceased have been identified as foreign nationals. People familiar with the matter told HT that the nationals were from Nigeria, Mozambique, Bangladesh, Somalia, Liberia, and Afghanistan.
The blaze erupted at the Flourish Stay B&B in Hauz Rani, which is a congested locality in Malviya Nagar, on Wednesday morning.
The deceased and injured were rushed to nearby hospitals.
'Guilty will not be spared'
Addressing the incident, Delhi Power Minister Ashish Sood stated that a probe will be launched to look into the cause of the fire.
Sood asserted that if the owner of the building was found responsible for negligence, they would be arrested.
"The building owner responsible for negligence will be arrested shortly. We will not spare any illegal building or those found guilty. The guilty will not be spared. We are probing whether the building had obtained an NOC and whether the required permission to run a BnB was secured," Sood told reporters.
What caused the fire?
As per initial reports, the fire was suspected to have been caused by a cylinder blast. However, as the investigation into the fire continues, officials suspect a short circuit caused the blaze. Officials earlier said the fire started around 8.30 am at the nearby Lemon Green Restaurant, but police later clarified that it had started in the hotel building.
The building has a basement, ground floor and five upper floors. The restaurant was being operated on the ground floor, while the rest of the building was being used as a hotel, fire officer A K Malik told news agency PTI.
