Delhi hotel fire: Main suspect surrenders before court
Jay Mishra, who is a main suspect in the South Delhi hotel fire that killed 22 people, turned himself in to a court on Monday, according to a police official.
Police said Mishra, who is a close associate and accountant of hotel owner Lavkesh Bajaj, also faces an FIR filed in 2024 under section 223 (Causes danger to human life, health, or safety) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The FIR was filed because the hotel lacked a security system.
Since the fire at Flourish Stays Bed and Breakfast in Malviya Nagar’s Hauz Rani area on June 4, investigators had been looking for Mishra. Police teams carried out raids in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to find him.
Police sources say Mishra has known Bajaj for almost ten years. He has acted as a frontman for several of Bajaj’s businesses and managed financial and accounting work. Investigators think Mishra was important in running the hotel each day. They are now looking into how involved he was in its management, licensing, finances, and day-to-day decisions.
The Delhi Police continues to expand its investigation into the tragedy, which is one of the deadliest hotel fires in the capital in recent years. The police had earlier questioned the hotel owner, Bajaj, who is in custody, regarding the property’s ownership structure, finances, safety compliance and operational practices.
During questioning, Bajaj reportedly told investigators that he had put Mishra in charge of running the hotel. using documents, financial records, and other business transactions to determine who was responsible for the hotel’s operations and whether mandatory safety norms were ignored.
The investigation has already resulted in the arrest of the hotel’s 65-year-old cook, KeshavNegi. He was brought before a court and sent to police custody after investigators said he was cooking when the fire started.
The fire killed 22 people, including a 16-year-old girl and 12 foreign nationals from countries like Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Iraq, Congo, Mozambique, and Libya. Officials said police have charged Bajaj with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
