Death in the Malviya Nagar fire reached 22 as of Sunday, one more victim succumbed to the injuries, police said.
Meanwhile, Delhi Police on Sunday took arrested hotel cook Keshav Negi to the site of the devastating Malviya Nagar fire as part of efforts to reconstruct the sequence of events that led to one of the deadliest fire tragedies in the area.
Negi, who worked as a cook at Flourish Stay B&B, was arrested after the fire broke out on June 3, killing 21 people, including 13 foreign nationals, and injuring 28 others.
Police officials conducted the site visit while continuing their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the blaze. During the probe, authorities reportedly uncovered multiple safety violations and serious deficiencies in the building’s fire safety infrastructure.
Earlier, the Delhi Police arrested Negi in connection with the incident and detained several other individuals linked to the hotel. On Saturday, he was produced before Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Bhanu Pratap Singh at the Saket court, which granted two days of police custody to facilitate further investigation.
Meanwhile, hotel owner Lovkesh Bajaj remains in police custody in connection with the tragedy.
The police have also launched an intensive search for Jai Mishra, the hotel’s manager, who is absconding and is believed to have played a key role in the operation and management of the establishment where the fire occurred.
According to police sources, multiple teams have been deployed across Delhi and neighbouring states to trace Mishra. Investigators are using technical surveillance and other methods to determine his whereabouts.
As part of the ongoing probe, police teams are also identifying and locating hotel employees and other workers who were present at or associated with the bed and breakfast at the time of the incident.
