What happened here
A fire that began in the ground-floor kitchen of the Flourish Stay bed-and-breakfast in Hauz Rani, Malviya Nagar, on the morning of 3 June 2026 killed 23 people, many of them foreigners in Delhi for hospital treatment. The building had one exit, no fire NOC per the fire service, and about 25 rooms against six permitted. Police have chargesheeted the owner, manager and cook; the forensic report is awaited.
Quick answers
How many people died in the Malviya Nagar hotel fire?
Police put the toll at 23, as reported by PTI in September and October 2026. Twenty-one died on 3 June 2026, a Nigerian national died on 6 June and a Bangladeshi woman died on 10 June. Some later court reports still used 22.
Where did the fire happen?
At the Flourish Stay bed-and-breakfast in a five-storey building in Hauz Rani, Malviya Nagar, South Delhi, opposite Max Hospital, Saket.
What caused the fire?
Police allege that a cook left an oil fryer on in the ground-floor kitchen and the oil caught fire. The defence argues an electrical fault. The forensic report was still awaited when the chargesheet was filed, so the cause is not confirmed.
Did the guest house have a fire NOC?
No. The Delhi Fire Service said it had no fire NOC. It held a bed-and-breakfast licence for six rooms but was running about 25 to 26, with one entry and exit and no fire exit, officials said.
Has anyone been charged?
Yes. Delhi Police filed a chargesheet on 1 September 2026 against the owner, the manager-cum-accountant and the cook, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The owner is on interim bail on medical grounds and the cook is on bail.
What compensation was announced?
Rs 2 lakh from the PMNRF for each family that lost someone and Rs 50,000 for the injured, plus Rs 10 lakh per family and Rs 5 lakh for the seriously injured from the Delhi government.
What happened
On the morning of Wednesday, 3 June 2026, a fire broke out in the ground-floor kitchen and restaurant of Flourish Stay, a bed-and-breakfast in a five-storey building in Hauz Rani, Malviya Nagar, south Delhi. The building stands in a narrow lane opposite Max Hospital, Saket, and most of the guests were patients or attendants who had come for treatment at nearby hospitals. Many were asleep upstairs when the smoke rose through the building.
A Delhi Fire Service officer told PTI the call came in at 8.50 am and seven vehicles were sent at once; residents said they had called earlier and that the engines came late, which the fire service denied. Police later said eight fire tenders brought the fire under control. Residents and firefighters broke the main gate and windows with stones and hammers, and several people jumped from upper floors. Ten Delhi Police personnel who went in without protective gear were hurt and taken to AIIMS, police said.
Official figures reported on 4 June said 47 people were rescued and taken to hospitals, most of them to Max Hospital. Preliminary findings, officials said, suggested that many of those who died were killed by smoke and suffocation rather than flames.
The people who died
Police put the toll at 21 on the day of the fire. A Nigerian national who had been moved to the burns ward at Safdarjung Hospital died on the night of 6 June, taking it to 22, and a Bangladeshi woman who had come to Delhi for a kidney transplant died during treatment on 10 June, taking it to 23, according to police statements reported by India TV, The Tribune and ETV Bharat. PTI’s reports on the chargesheet (1 September) and on the owner’s bail (16 October) give 23 dead and 24 people with grievous injuries. Some later court reports still used 22.
The count of foreigners among the dead changed several times. The Ministry of External Affairs said on 5 June that 13 foreign nationals had died: four from Nigeria, three from Kyrgyzstan and one each from Mozambique, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Congo, Liberia and Iraq. Early figures ranged from 11 to 18. The Tribune later reported 13 foreigners and 10 Indians among the 23. PTI said the dead included a 16-year-old girl, and The Tribune reported that one family from Gurugram lost eight members.
Response and investigation
Delhi Police registered an FIR for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The owner of the property was arrested within hours, the cook was arrested a few days later and the manager-cum-accountant surrendered on 8 June. On 1 September police filed a chargesheet of about 1,500 pages in a Saket court against all three, under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections including 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 287 (negligent conduct with fire), after recording more than 130 witness statements.
According to the police case, as reported by PTI, the cook left an oil fryer switched on while making tea, the oil reached its auto-ignition temperature, and the fire spread to the ceiling and stored cardboard. Police say he tried to put it out and then left without warning guests or calling for help, and investigators are looking at a gap of nearly 30 minutes before the first emergency call. These are allegations. Early on, police looked at a short circuit or a cylinder blast, and the defence argues an electrical fault. When the cook got bail in July, the court noted that the forensic (FSL) report was still awaited and the exact cause had not been scientifically established. Police said a supplementary chargesheet would follow.
Officials said the property held a bed-and-breakfast licence from 2024 for six rooms but was running about 25 to 26 rooms, some in the basement. The Delhi Fire Service said it had no fire NOC. Police allege the owner had applied for a hotel licence about two years earlier and was refused because the building had one entry and exit and no fire exit. Residents said the windows were sealed and a sensor-operated gate stopped working, and ETV Bharat reported that the basement entrance was locked from inside and the roof exit was closed.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta ordered a magisterial inquiry and a crackdown on illegal guest houses. Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra told PTI the bed-and-breakfast scheme would be withdrawn and every licensed unit checked. The MCD sealed five guest houses in Hauz Rani on 5 June; a joint survey flagged more than 12 in Hauz Rani, 32 properties in Said-ul-Ajaib and nine in Khirki Extension. Bhaskar Digital reported in July on what it described as the inquiry report, saying it recommended action against MCD, police and other officials; the report has not been made public and we could not confirm it elsewhere.
The Prime Minister announced ₹2 lakh from the PMNRF for the family of each person who died and ₹50,000 for the injured. The Delhi government announced ₹10 lakh for each family and ₹5 lakh for the seriously injured, and the Chief Minister handed over cheques to some of the families on 22 June. In the case, the owner has been on interim bail on medical grounds since September; on 15 October the Delhi High Court extended it by six weeks.
Why this matters
Hauz Rani and the lanes around Saket’s hospitals are full of small guest houses that serve patients from other states and other countries. A family that has come for a transplant or cancer treatment picks a room for its price and its distance from the hospital. They do not know which building has a fire NOC, which has a second staircase, or whether the windows open.
Delhi has seen this before, at Anaj Mandi in 2019 and Mundka in 2022: people trapped above a fire in buildings with too few ways out. Here it was one entry and exit, rooms added far beyond what was approved, and a kitchen at the bottom of the only staircase. In all of 2024, NCRB recorded 103 deaths in accidental fires across Delhi. This one building killed 23.
Lessons
- Before you book, ask two questions. Is there a second staircase or fire exit? Does the building have a fire NOC? If the answer is no, or a shrug, stay somewhere else.
- Walk the way out on the first night. Find the stairs, check that the door at the bottom and the roof door open, and count the doors from your room.
- Check your window. If it is sealed or barred, you have one exit only. Tell the manager and change rooms if you can.
- Owners: never leave a fryer or kadhai on unattended. Switch it off before you walk away, even for a cup of tea, and keep cartons and stock away from the kitchen and the stairs.
- Raise the alarm first. Anyone who sees a fire must shout, wake the guests and call 101 or 112 at once, before trying to fight it.
- Smoke kills before flames. If the stairs are full of smoke, stay in your room, shut the door, block the gap with a wet towel and signal from the window.
What is still not known
The forensic report on the cause has not been made public. The magisterial inquiry report has not been released, and we found no official word on whether any official has been suspended or charged. We could not confirm how many families have received the announced compensation, or the final shape of Delhi’s bed-and-breakfast scheme. The trial has not begun. We will update this page when these are on record.
More on Delhi: see our Delhi fire and emergency safety guide for fire brigade numbers, every fire station and the local risks to know.
- Flourish Stay gets a Delhi bed-and-breakfast licence for six rooms, valid until 2027 (Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra)
- Delhi High Court directs the government and MCD to enforce fire safety in hospitality establishments (ETV Bharat)
- Fire starts in the ground-floor kitchen; DFS says the call came at 8.50 am and seven vehicles were sent; residents allege delay
- Police confirm 21 deaths; FIR for culpable homicide; owner arrested; magisterial inquiry ordered; PM announces PMNRF ex gratia
- Delhi government announces Rs 10 lakh per deceased; Tourism Minister says the B&B scheme will be withdrawn
- MEA says 13 foreign nationals among the dead; MCD seals five guest houses in Hauz Rani
- Cook arrested; a Nigerian national dies at Safdarjung Hospital, toll 22
- Manager-cum-accountant surrenders
- A Bangladeshi woman dies during treatment; police put the toll at 23
- Chief Minister hands Rs 10 lakh cheques to some families
- Cook gets bail; court notes FSL report still awaited
- Chargesheet of about 1,500 pages filed against owner, manager and cook in a Saket court
- Delhi High Court extends the owner's interim bail by six weeks on medical grounds
Why consequences escalated
- The fire started on the ground floor, where a restaurant and kitchen sat at the foot of the only staircase.
- The building had one entry and exit and no fire exit, police and the fire service said.
- About 25 to 26 rooms were in use against a bed-and-breakfast licence for six.
- The property had no fire NOC, according to the Delhi Fire Service.
- Officials said many victims died of smoke and suffocation; windows were reported sealed.
- Police allege an unattended oil fryer started the fire; the forensic report has not confirmed the cause.
Failures and risk multipliers
- Running about four times the permitted rooms, including rooms in a basement.
- Operating guest rooms with a single staircase and no fire exit.
- Sealed windows, a locked basement entrance and a closed roof exit, as reported.
- A kitchen fire left unattended and, police allege, not reported at once.
- Licence checks that did not catch the extra rooms or the missing fire NOC.
Actions that reduce risk
- Guest-house owners: run only the rooms you are licensed for, and get a fire NOC.
- Keep a second way out, and never lock the roof door or the basement exit.
- Fit smoke detectors and an alarm that wakes every floor.
- Never leave a fryer or kadhai on unattended, and keep cartons away from the kitchen and stairs.
- Train every staff member to raise the alarm and call 101 before fighting a fire.
- Guests: check the stairs, exits and windows on the first night of your stay.
Leave a comment