Hyderabad police arrest 4 in connection with e-bike showroom fire case

Hyderabad police arrested four persons in connection with the fire mishap at an e-bike showroom and a hotel which claimed eight lives earlier this week.

Hotel owner Rajender Singh, his son Sumeet Singh, manager and supervisor have been arrested by the police.

They were booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

A major fire broke out at Ruby Pride Luxury Hotel following an explosion in an e-bike showroom located in the basement of the five-storied building near Passport Office at around 9.30 p.m. on Monday night.

Eight persons were killed and nine injured in the fire.

Sumeet Singh was running the e-bike showroom, which was being operated in violation of the norms. His father Rajender Singh was running the hotel with another son.

Rajender Singh and Sumeet had left for their home at 9 a.m. after closing the e-bike showroom.

Hotel staff informed Rajender Singh about the fire around 9.45 p.m. He rushed to the scene but by then the smoke had engulfed the entire building trapping the guests inside their hotel rooms. The owner later left the place.

The police later traced Rajender Singh and his son in Kishan Bagh area and arrested them.

Meanwhile, CCTV footage of an e-bike showroom has emerged, showing how the fire started. Preliminary investigations indicate the battery of the e-scooter exploded which sparked the fire.

According to police, the fire spread to the hotel on the upper floors. The hotel comprised 28 rooms and there were 25 occupants in the hotel when the blaze engulfed the building.

The owners were booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 304 II (act done with knowledge that it is likely to cause death but without any intention to cause death), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and Section 9 b of Explosives Act, 1884.

A case at Market Police Station was registered on a complaint by one Manmohan Khanna, who along with his colleague Rajesh Chabra, both working as product managers for Forbes Marshall Private Limited, were present in the hotel.

Chabra, who came from Surat, had booked a room in the hotel. After attending some office work in the city, they returned to the hotel after 8 p.m. and went upstairs to the fifth floor for dinner.

The complainant said around 9.35 p.m., they heard hotel staff screaming and noticed flames and smoke coming from the cellar where the hotel management is running Ruby Gemopai electrical scooters.

They alerted those at the dining, guests and hotel boys.

They along with four persons saved themselves by jumping on to the adjoining Yatri Hotel.