Ailing man who lost 8 relatives in Delhi fire dies
What's the story
The last surviving member of the Aggarwal family, 80-year-old Radhe Shyam Aggarwal, died on Tuesday. Aggarwal had lost eight members of his family in a hotel fire in Delhi's Malviya Nagar last week. The only survivor, Shyam, was admitted to Max Hospital in Saket at the time of the incident and was unaware of his family's fate. The family had checked into the doomed Flourish Stay B&B near Max Hospital, where the man was undergoing treatment for a lung ailment.
Tragic circumstances
Family perished in fire
Police identified the victims as Shyam's son, Vivek Aggarwal (45); his wife Tarjani (43); their daughters Jivisha (20) and Varya (18); Vivek's mother Premlata, 71; uncle Ashok; aunt Kamla Goyal; and her husband, Jhaveri Lal Goyal, who had come from Rajasthan's Ajmer. They had been informed of the patriarch's deteriorating health and had been told to prepare themselves for the worst.
Final farewell
Family's Gurugram home stands empty
On the day of the tragedy, the family had planned to meet Radhe Shyam at 11:30am during visiting hours. Jivisha, an engineering student from Bengaluru, had flown in to say goodbye to her grandfather. Relatives say the grandfather proudly told nurses that his grandchild had traveled all the way from the faraway city to meet him. The family's Gurugram Sector 46 home now stands empty after their tragic loss.
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Cook's negligence, delay in calling for help worsened situation
An investigation into the tragic fire, which claimed 22 lives, has revealed a series of critical lapses that led to the disaster. The probe found that an unattended oil fryer and a cook's negligence could have played a major role in starting the fire. Per police, the fire started when the cook inadvertently left an oil fryer on while preparing tea. The oil reached its auto-ignition temperature, causing a sudden blaze that quickly spread through the building.
Arrest
Hotel owner, cook arrested
The fire spread swiftly, driven further by highly flammable materials such as boxes kept within the premises. The owner, Lavkesh Bajaj, has been arrested and charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The cook, Keshav Negi, has also been arrested. Jay Mishra, an accountant at the hotel and close associate of Bajaj, surrendered before a Delhi court on Monday. Mishra is believed to have played a key role in managing the establishment's day-to-day operations.