Jay Mishra, a crucial figure in the deadly south Delhi hotel fire that claimed 22 lives, has surrendered to authorities as the police investigation intensifies into the hotel's operations and alleged safety norm violations.
Key Points
- Jay Mishra, a key accused in the south Delhi hotel fire that killed 22 people, has surrendered before a court in New Delhi.
- Mishra, a close associate and accountant of hotel owner Lavkesh Bajaj, faces an FIR for endangering human life due to inadequate security apparatus.
- The investigators believe Mishra played a crucial role in the hotel's day-to-day functioning, management, licensing, finances, and operational decisions.
- The Delhi Police probe is widening, scrutinising documents and financial records to determine responsibility for ignored safety norms.
- The blaze claimed 22 lives, including 12 foreign nationals, and hotel owner Bajaj has been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Jay Mishra, a key accused in the south Delhi hotel fire that killed 22 people, surrendered before a court in New on Monday, an official said.
A close associate and accountant of hotel owner Lavkesh Bajaj, Mishra also has an FIR against him, registered in 2024 under section 223 (Causes danger to human life, health, or safety) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police said. The FIR was in connection with the absence of a security apparatus in the hotel.
Mishra had been on the radar of investigators since the fire at Flourish Stays Bed and Breakfast in Malviya Nagar's Hauz Rani area on June 4. Multiple police teams had been conducting raids in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to trace him.
Role Of The Accused In Hotel Operations
According to the police sources, Mishra has known Bajaj for nearly a decade and worked as a frontman for several of his business interests while also handling financial and accounting matters.
The investigators believe he played a key role in the day-to-day functioning of the hotel and are examining the extent of his involvement in its management, licensing, finances and operational decisions.
Widening Probe And Other Arrests
The development comes as Delhi Police continues to widen its probe into the tragedy, one of the deadliest hotel fires in the capital in recent years.
The police had earlier questioned hotel owner Bajaj, who is in custody, regarding the property's ownership structure, finances, safety compliance and operational practices.
During questioning, Bajaj allegedly told the investigators that he had delegated the hotel's operations to Mishra.
Officers are scrutinising documents, financial records and other business transactions to determine who was responsible for the hotel's functioning and whether mandatory safety norms were ignored.
The investigation has already led to the arrest of the hotel's 65-year-old cook, Keshav Negi, who was produced before a court and remanded to police custody. According to investigators, Negi was preparing food when the fire broke out.
The blaze claimed 22 lives, including that of a 16-year-old girl, and 12 foreign nationals from countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Iraq, Congo, Mozambique and Liberia.
The police have booked Bajaj under the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
