New Delhi: “Delhi me sab chalta hai” (everything works in Delhi). This is what the owner of the Malviya Nagar hotel told police when confronted about major violations. He showed little remorse, even driving past the burning building without stopping during rescue operations following a blaze that claimed 21 lives, including 12 foreign nationals, and left several others injured, officials said on Thursday.
According to police, the accused, Lavkesh Bajaj, is non-cooperative during interrogation.
He was arrested following the tragedy at Flourish Stay B&B in south Delhi’s Hauz Rani area on Wednesday, one of the deadliest fires in the capital in recent years.
Police questioning has revealed what investigators describe as a pattern of greed, regulatory violations and disregard for safety norms.
Police sources said Bajaj told investigators that after the hotel business began generating substantial profits, the belief that “everything works in Delhi” encouraged him to illegally expand the property from two-and-a-half storeys to five floors.
Officials said the property didn’t have a licence for a restaurant; it was only permitted to operate as a tea shop. Originally permitted to operate only six rooms under Delhi government’s bed-and-breakfast policy, the establishment allegedly expanded to around 25-26 rooms, including some in the basement.
Police said rooms were rented for between Rs 3,000 and Rs 15,000 a day, while additional income came from a ground-floor restaurant.
Investigators found that Bajaj allegedly obtained licences in the name of Jai Mishra, who managed the hotel’s operations and accounts.
Five police teams are tracing Mishra, who is absconding.
Sources said the building had earlier received a temporary accommodation licence during the 2010 Commonwealth Games under a different owner when the city was facing a shortage of rooms.
During interrogation, Bajaj told investigators he owned at least four hotels in the area and rarely visited them. Police sources said he claimed to have handed over the establishment’s day-to-day management to Mishra after purchasing the building in 2022.
Investigators alleged that when the fire broke out, Bajaj happened to be passing near the building but did not stop despite noticing the commotion. Instead, he allegedly left the area and kept moving across different parts of Delhi before being tracked down and arrested later that day.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Southern Range) Vijay Kumar said they have got his four days’ police remand. “We will ask him about the staff members who were present there as all of them are absconding,” he said.
He said the sections of the FIR are correct and multiple sections have been added due to the act and circumstance of the incident.
He also said many violations were noted.
“The premises had permission for only six rooms, but there were 25 rooms. No gas connection was taken in the name of the premises, but four cylinders were present,” he said.
The probe has now widened beyond the immediate cause of the fire, with investigators examining alleged illegal construction, fire safety violations, licence irregularities, ownership records and factors that may have contributed to the high death toll.
