Hyderabad hotel, e-bike showroom owners booked for culpable homicide

The owners of a hotel and e-bike showroom, where a fire claimed eight lives on Monday night, have been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

A major fire broke out at the Ruby Pride Luxury Hotel, following an explosion in an e-bike showroom located in the basement of the five-storied building near the Passport Office.

Eight persons were killed and nine injured in the fire that broke out around 9.30 p.m.

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

Police suspect that either an e-bike or a generator in the showroom exploded leading to fire.

The police booked Rajender Singh Bugga, Sumeet Singh and others who were illegally running an e-bike showroom for one year in the cellar of the same building.

The owners were booked under Indian Penal Code's 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 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, escaped by jumping on to the adjoining Yatri Hotel but the remaining persons who were staying in the hotel rooms were unable to escape.

Khanna also alerted the police by dialing 100.

The complainant sought action against Ruby Hotel and Gemopai electrical scooters owners Sumeet Singh and his brothers and manager for illegally running the electrical scooter showroom in the hotel premises.

--IANS

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