After Lavkesh Bajaj, the owner of the fire-stricken Bed and Breakfast (BnB) facility, Flourish Stay was arrested on Wednesday, police records have indicated on Friday that the accused had also been arrested last year on charges of arranging fake Aadhar cards and passports for lodging several Bangladeshi people illegally in India. According to police, Bajaj is currently in police custody for alleged fire-safety lapses at his stay in Malviya Nagar, where a catastrophic blaze had erupted on Wednesday, killing 21 people including 12 foreign nationals.

As the cops continue the probe into the circumstances leading to the fire breakout, details of Bajaj’s previous legal troubles have resurfaced.

Fake passport case dates back to Jan 2025

As per police, the fake passport and Aadhar card case dates back to January 29, 2025, when the cops received a tip-off regarding a Bangladeshi family staying illegally in the Paharganj area of the national capital, using forged Indian documents.

Acting swiftly on the tip-off, the cops raided the spot, only to find two women and a minor living at a rented accommodation. The women were identified as Sweety Sarkar, known by other names such as Beauty Hawaldar and Johra Khatoon, and her daughter Pushpo Sarkar, who too assumed several identities.

When the police questioned them, they failed to produce valid identity documents. The police inspected the scene further, recovering Bangladeshi and Indian passports, multiple Aadhar cards and banking-related papers.

The cops found that the photographs on the recovered passports and Aadhar cards appeared to belong to the same individual despite being issued under different names and addresses.

Address trail leads cops to Bajaj

The probe took a turn when the cops verified the address listed on an Indian passport allegedly used by Sweety. The address belonged to Bajaj, a resident of Delhi’s Saket locality.

Police findings revealed that Bajaj admitted during the interrogation that he had allowed the family to use his residential address for obtaining Indian documents, in lieu of money.

Following the disclosure, the police arrested Bajaj, Sweety and Pushpo and filed a chargesheet against them. Bajaj spent 15 days in Tihar jail and later secured bail. According to officials, the case is still pending before a court.

Bajaj draws fresh scrutiny after hotel fire

Legal troubles have again cropped up for Bajaj after the deadly blaze broke out at his BnB facility. Police arrested him on Wednesday night and placed him in four-day custody. During interrogation, Bajaj confessed to have driven past the burning building instead of stopping and assisting the guests trapped inside. The cops claim he left the area out of fear and continued driving around the city. Later, police had issued a lookout circular against him and his wife amid concerns that he might try to leave the country, particularly as both of his children reside abroad.

Safety lapses at BnB facility come to the fore

Preliminary findings carried out in the aftermath of the catastrophic inferno indicated that the facility had been operating without a valid No Objection Certificate (NOC). The documents reviewed by police revealed that the establishment had the permission to lay only six rooms, but 25 rooms had been functioning there, including units in the basement.