Delhi fire tragedy: Hotel owner forged documents for Bangladeshi nationals

New Delhi: A shocking revelation has emerged about the main accused, 60-year-old hotel owner Lavakesh Bajaj, following the horrific fire outbreak at the 'Flourish Stay' hotel in Delhi's Malviya Nagar on Wednesday, which claimed 21 lives.

The Delhi Police had previously arrested Bajaj in 2025 on charges of providing fake Indian passports, Aadhaar cards, and other forged documents to Bangladeshi nationals to help them reside in the country illegally.

On January 29, 2025, the police received credible information regarding a Bangladeshi family living with forged documents in Delhi's Paharganj area. Following a raid, the police detained Sweety Sarkar and her daughter Pushpo Sarkar. Investigators discovered that they did not possess any official identification cards. However, two Bangladeshi passports, one Indian passport, multiple fake Aadhaar cards, and bank documents were recovered from them. Notably, all the passports and Aadhaar cards, despite carrying different addresses, featured their photographs. When police verified the Chhattarpur Enclave address listed on the fake Indian passport, it was traced back to Bajaj, a resident of Saket.

During subsequent interrogation, Bajaj admitted that he had permitted them to use his address in exchange for money. He was arrested in connection with the case and sent to Tihar Jail, out of which he secured bail after 15 days.

The fire tragedy at the hotel on Wednesday resulted in 21 people being charred to death, including 12 foreign nationals. The police arrested Bajaj within hours of the incident, and he is currently in police custody for four days. During interrogation, he confessed that instead of rescuing the occupants when the fire broke out, he fled the scene in his car out of fear.

Since his children reside abroad, the police have initiated the process to issue a Lookout Circular (LOC) to prevent the couple from fleeing the country.

Investigation findings:

• According to regulations, the hotel was permitted to operate only 6 rooms, with 3 rooms each on the first and second floors. However, Bajaj illegally operated a total of 25 rooms, including the basement.

• Despite operating a hotel on such a large scale, no No Objection Certificate (NOC) was obtained from the fire department.

• The entire five-story building had only a single entry and exit point. The windows were completely sealed, and since the main door operated via automated sensors, it locked down when the power went out, leaving people trapped inside where they suffocated to death.