Prime accused in Nampally fire in ICU, placed under police surveillance

Accused owner of building placed under police surveillance; cause of fire suspected to be electrical; nine people killed in fire mishap; Jaiswal booked under Section 304 (II) of IPC; 17-yr-old Talha remains critical.

The accused owner of the building which caught fire and led to the death of nine persons has been placed under police surveillance. “The man, identified as Ramesh Jaiswal, has been kept under police watch at a private hospital in Nampally and he will be arrested once he recovers,” said Hyderabad City Police Commissioner Sandeep Shandilya.

Chief of Hyderabad clues team Venkanna said the cause of fire is suspected be electrical in nature. “Our investigation so far has revealed that the cause of fire is due to a short circuit. This has been confirmed by the CC camera footage of the locality as well,” he said.

The owner of the property is accused of illegally storing chemical drums and containers in the stilt, which caught fire and killed nine people. Officials said the man had suffered a heart stroke due to smoke inhalation during the fire mishap on November 13.  Meanwhile, Director-General of Telangana State Fire department Y. Nagi Reddy said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

“Jaiswal had tried to help in the rescue operation on Monday morning and became giddy. He was rushed to a nearby private hospital along with others, where it was revealed that he also suffered a heart stroke,” said DCP of Central Zone M. Venkateshwarulu. 

Nampally Police Inspector Begari Abhilash said that Mr. Jaiswal had hired one more property to store his goods. “We have booked him under Section 304 (II) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC,” said the Inspector.

Speaking about the condition of 17-year-old Mohammad Talha, Superintendent of Osmania Hospital B. Nagender said that his condition still remains critical. Talha sustained 75% body burns in the mishap.

The fire mishap in Balaji Residence on Monday, a four-storey building which has 16 flats, killed nine individuals from three families. Officials from the fire department said that the fire had started at the stilt of the building, where Jaiswal had illegally stored chemicals in plastic drums and other flammable materials including fibreglass rolls. The fire and smoke then quickly spread to all the upper floors.