THURSDAY 04 JUNE, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard KUWAIT AIRPORT INDIAN KILLED IN IRAN STRIKES The death prompted a strong condemnation from India and highlighted the widening impact of escalating hostilities across the Gulf region. PAGE 9 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 Locals try to douse fire at the hotel in Malviya Nagar on Wednesday | PTI 21 CHARRED TO DEATH IN HOTEL INFERNO 8 of a family from Gurugram and 12 foreign nationals among dead Flourish Stay B&B in Malviya Nagar didn’t have fire NoC Owner Lovkesh Bajaj arrested Delhi HC’s Jan order on fire safety norms ignored by civic authorities The loss of lives due to a fire in Malviya Nagar is tragic. My condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. Wishing a speedy recovery to the injured N I T I N R A W AT @ New Delhi AT least 21 people, including nine Indians and 12 foreign nationals, lost their lives and several others sustained injuries after a devastating fire engulfed a hotel in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar on Wednesday morning. The hotel owner, Lovkesh Bajaj, has been arrested hours after he fled the scene. Forty-nine people were rescued and shifted to nearby hospitals for treatment. Of them, 21 died of their injuries. Eight of the injured were discharged after treatment. Ten police personnel were also injured and shifted to a hospital. Officials said a dozen of those killed in the fire were foreign nationals from Central Asia and Africa. The incident took place at Flourish Stay B&B (Bed and Breakfast) in Hauz Rani, which falls under the Malviya Nagar area. The initial inquiry suggested that many of the victims staying at the hotel had come to Delhi for the treatment of their family members and relatives. Visuals emerged showing hotel occupants jumping from the upper floors to save themselves. A foreign national was seen on the terrace of a nearby building, trying to escape. DCP (South) Anant Mittal said that police received information about the fire at 8.48 am on Wednesday Local police per. sonnel reached the spot and began rescue operations. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Police, civil and fire rescue teams are on the spot. Officials have been spoken to and directed to ensure immediate medical aid, and a thorough probe into this tragic incident Taranjit Singh Sandhu, L-G In this hour of grief our govt stands firmly with the affected families. We remain committed to providing every possible support to those impacted by this tragedy Rekha Gupta, Chief Minister A family of foreign nationals hangs from the B&B window as fire engulfs the building The Delhi Fire Services fully extinguished. More than (DFS) said that after receiving 40 people were rescued and information about the fire at transported to nearby hospitals around 8.50 am, seven fire ten- for treatment. Of them, 21 peoders were dispatched. As the ple died in the incident,” the scale of the incident became DCP said. clear, additional vehicles and Police said a case has been personnel were mobilised, tak- registered under charges of ing the total number of fire ten- culpable homicide. Investigaders deployed to 17. tions revealed that the estabSix people were rescued from lishment obtained its licence the basement. Fire personnel under the Bed and Breakfast later moved to the upper floors (B&B) scheme in 2024. Accordand continued evacuating oc- ing to police, the property in cupants. Those rescued Hauz Rani was purchased from the building were by Bajaj’s father in 1987. shifted to nearby hospiOfficials revealed MALVIYA tals, officials said. that the establishNAGAR According to offiment was operating cials, the building under a B&B licence comprises a baseissued by the tourism ment, a ground floor department. But it did and five upper stories. The not possess a fire No Obbasement and ground floor jection Certificate (NOC). each had two rooms, while evePolice said the hotel staff inry upper floor had five rooms. formed the owner about the There were also four rooms on fire in the morning. Investigathe terrace, two of which were tors are examining reports that being used to accommodate he visited the site and remained guests, while the remaining there for some time. two served as storage rooms. Police have seized passports, The fire broke out on the other documents and laptops ground, first and second floors recovered from the hotel of the building. The remaining premises. These are being used floors were affected by heat and to identify the deceased and smoke. Sources claimed the critically injured. Authorities fire may have begun shortly af- will subsequently coordinate ter a chef arrived at the restau- with respective embassies to rant on the ground floor and inform the victims’ families. switched on the electrical The incident comes weeks afequipment. However, investiga- ter the Vivek Vihar fire in a tions are underway to ascer- residential building claimed tain the exact cause. nine lives, with the victims be“The fire has been success- ing charred to death. P3 & P4 THEY CAME TO SEE HIM, THE No work done on HC’s FIRE REACHED THEM FIRST Jan order on fire safety I F R A H M U F T I @ New Delhi THE trip was supposed to last only a short while. A family from Gurugram packed a few bags, checked into Flourish Inn, a modest hotel in Malviya Nagar, and planned to spend their time walking the few hundred metres to a hospital where an elderly father waited. They expected a return home with better news. Instead, Wednesday morning brought a fire that erased eight lives and left a family shattered. Vivek Agarwal, 47, a chartered accountant, had travelled to Delhi with his wife Tarini, their daughters Angel (17) and Pearl (20), his mother Premlata and relatives. His father, Radhe Shyam Agarwal, in his late seventies, was admitted to Max Hospital. The family never got the chance to see him. They had booked two rooms Eight members of a Gurugram family who came to see ailing father at hosp die on the first floor of the hotel. Relatives Jhumri Lal Goyal and Kamla Goyal arrived at around 4 am and went to sleep, unaware that disaster was already bearing down on them. When the fire erupted, those rooms became a trap. Escape was scarce and time was merciless. Hours later, confusion gave way to horror. “It all happened so suddenly. I spoke to Vivek last evening to ask about his father. Someone in the family saw a news alert this morning about a fire in Malviya Nagar. By around 1 pm, we realised it was them. We rushed to the hotel and were told everyone had been shifted to Max Hospital. Then we found out all of them had died,” a relative said. Another relative described a desperate search through hospital corridors. “We tried to enter the burn ward, but authorities told us there were mostly foreign nationals admitted. After repeated requests, I found one of Vivek’s daughters inside. Only then did the staff acknowledge the mistake.” At Max and the AIIMS mortuary, grief gathered everywhere. More than 20 relatives arrived through the day Young. er family members tried to steady inconsolable elders. Some moved endlessly between facilities as officials coordinated deathly procedures with cold efficiency . U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi THE Delhi High Court on January 7 directed authorities to urgently address the concerns about inadequate fire safety measures in hotels, restaurants and other hospitality establishments across the capital. However, the authorities concerned are yet to comply with the order, the counsel associated with the case said. A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia was hearing a PIL that raised the issue, seeking formulation of a comprehensive action plan to strengthen safety standards. The bench had disposed of the plea, directing the Delhi government, MCD and NDMC to treat the PIL as a representation and take an “appropriate decision with expedition”. Rebels wrest Mamata’s Trinamool S U B H E N D U M A I T I @ Kolkata IN a massive shake-up that amounted to snatching the Trinamool Congress from its founder Mamata Banerjee, the West Bengal Assembly Speaker on Wednesday recognised a 58MLA rebel bloc as the “real Trinamool” and appointed expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of the Opposition. Speaker Rathindranath Bose accepted a letter signed by the rebel MLAs and formally recognised Banerjee, a first-timer from Uluberia Purba, as leader of the legislative party, and former minister Akhruzzaman as chief whip. The rebel camp also unveiled a new leadership structure for the legislature party Veteran legislators Javed . Ahmed Khan, Sandeepan Saha, Sabina Yasmin and Shiuli Saha would serve as deputy leaders. The assembly secretary sym- Roy, Chandranath Sinha, Riaz bolically handed over the keys Hossain, Gulshan Mallik, Piya to the LoP’s chamber to Baner- Pal, Surajit Mitra, Usharani jee within hours. Mondal and Abdul Aziz. “We have begun our journey The rebellion lays bare the as a responsible opposition to- fallout of Trinamool’s rout in day We will oppose the govern- the recent West Bengal elec. ment when it is wrong and sup- tions, where it won just 80 out port it when it does good for the of 294 seats. people,” Banerjee told reportWith two MLAs already exers. The group claimed its pelled, the legislature party strength would soon reach 60. strength stands at 78, of which Several senior TMC legisla- 58, representing more than twotors, including Samar Mukho- thirds, have backed the rebel padhyay, Arup Roy, Rathin camp led by Ritabrata. Ghosh, Javed Khan and That two-thirds threshold is critical as it is the legal firePrasun Banerjee, joined wall against the anti-defecthe dissident camp’s tion law, and if sustained, show of strength. would allow the rebels to Among others present for mally claim the in the Assembly were Trinamool name S a b i n a Ya s m i n , and its iconic Samir Panja, Golam ‘jora ghas phool’ Rabbani, Imani Biswas, Hamidur symbol that RITABRATA BANERJEE Rahaman, Dinen Mamata de- signed three decades ago. Abhishek Banerjee, Mamata’s nephew and party general secretary, had separately proposed a loyalist candidate as LoP but that letter was rejected , amid a signature-forgery scandal now being probed. The situation bears striking similarities to the “Maharashtra model”, when Eknath Shinde led a revolt within the Shiv Sena, securing the backing of a majority of MLAs and eventually the control of the legislative wing, leaving the parent leadership battling for political legitimacy . For Mamata, the immediate challenge is not merely retaining the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly—a position for which only 30 MLAs are required—but preserving political authority over the legislature party P8 . The court had directed devising “with expedition” an action plan to put in place the safety measures so that fire incidents may be avoided. Advocate Arpit Bhargava had filed the petition in the aftermath of 25 people losing their lives in a nightclub fire in Goa on December 6, 2025. He, however, claimed that he sent repeated reminders to the chief secretary of the Delhi government, the commissioner of the MCD and the chairperson of the NDMC to comply with the order, but to no avail. Ter ming the inaction as “complete apathy”, he claimed that he sent the last reminder to the authorities on May 5, “beseeching them to comply with the court’s directions in light of several fire incidents in the past few months”. ANATOMY OF FIRE 8.40 am: Fire started at five-storey Flourish Stay B&B in Hauz Rani 8.48 am: Police receive call about the fire 8.51 am: Fire department dispatches seven fire tenders, increased to 15 10.50 am: Fire stopped, cooling operation initiated 11.20 am: 35 people rescued and search and relief operation continued NO VENTILATION: Rescuers found front facade covered, with sealed windows, no ventilation and no emergency exits BASEMENT TRAP: Six bodies were recovered from the basement first, then rescuers moved clearing upper floors 25 ROOMS: The building has two rooms each at the basement and ground floor, every upper floor has five rooms and terrace has four rooms SCATTERED DEBRIS: The building suffered extensive damage in the fire, with debris, shattered glass and burnt materials strewn in the vicinity Saviour shop owner brings out mattresses on sale to help save lives Ordinary residents became heroes the day the fire broke out. When Arman, who runs a mattresses shop in front of the hotel, saw smoke billowing from the building, he opened his shop and took out mattresses stocked for sale, placing them on the ground outside the burning structure with the help of other locals. “Realising that they might have to jump, I quickly brought out the mattresses,” he said. MEA in touch with embassies, Jaishankar promises help to foreign nationals The MEA is in touch with the embassies concerned and extending all necessary assistance following the fire in Malviya Nagar, S Jaishankar said. MoS for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh visited Max Hospital and AIIMS, where he met those injured, including foreign nationals undergoing treatment. Jaishankar said, “Express my deepest condolences at the loss of lives.” After massive blaze, people scramble to find alternative shelters in area Uncertainty and distress unfolded outside nearby hotels of Malviya Nagar, where several guests with their luggage could be seen standing on the roadside, while others hurriedly left the area in search of shelters. A woman from Madhya Pradesh said she had been staying at one of the hotels for the past eight days as one of her family members had been undergoing treatment at a hospital. City B&B policy to be withdrawn after tragedy, says tourism minister The Delhi government has decided to officially withdraw its Bed and Breakfast policy and review all establishments operating under the scheme, Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra said. ”Action would be taken against operators found violating the terms of the licence. If any establishment registered under the scheme is found running more than six rooms, its licence will be cancelled,” the minister said. US proposes 12.5% more tariff on India over forced labour concerns P U S H P I TA D E Y @ New Delhi THE US Trade Representative (USTR) on Wednesday proposed an additional 12.5% tariff on 54 countries, including India, for failing to enforce a forced labour import prohibition under Section 301. The section is designed to address unfair foreign acts affecting US commerce. “The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labor is unacceptable. This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field,” said Jamieson Greer, US trade representative in a statement. On March 12, the USTR initiated investigations into the fail- Pak, EU, Canada, 3 others in 10% bunch The proposed tariffs are not final. Stakeholders can seek to participate in public hearings by June 22, and written comments by July 6. As against 12.5% tariff on India and 53 other economies, USTR proposed 10% levy on imports from Canada, Ecuador, EU, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan ure of 60 nations to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the import of goods produced using forced labour. The current action is based on that investigation. The USTR report alleged that India failed to impose and effectively enforce a ban on imports linked to forced labour, calling the practice unreasonable and making it actionable under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act. In its pushback, India said it remains engaged with the US on the matter as part of the Section 301 proceedings. The commerce ministry said that India is also parallelly engaged with the US to finalise a framework agreement as was announced on February 2, 2026 and in accordance with a joint statement released on February 7. Think tank GTRI said, the current USTR probe exceeds the scope of 301, which deals with market-access barriers, and not what the US imports and from where. P10