Five die after fire breaks out in B’luru restaurant Fire in Gorakhpur’s BRD Hospital, Oppn cries foul

BENGALURU: Five labourers died in a fire that broke out on Monday night at a bar and restaurant in the Kalasipalyam area.

The deceased were identified as Swami, 23, Prasad, 20, Mahesh, 35, from Tumakuru; Manjunath, 45, who hails from Hassan; and Keerthi, 24, a native of Mandya. VR Dayashankar, the proprietor of the establishment, is paralysed and was thus not taken into custody. His brother VR Prakash, who ran the business after Dayashankar’s illness, has been arrested.

Police said the five deceased were asleep in Kailash Bar and Restaurant when the fire broke out. “The cause is unknown,” said MN Anucheth, deputy com- missioner of police, west division. Three fire tenders were pressed into service. However, they were unable to save the workers. Bengaluru mayor Sampath Raj said it was a violation of rules to allow workers to reside on the premises. “The owner has flouted multiple rules, including a lack of fire safety measures. We will definitely bring him to book,” he said.

The outlet is located in a market area, in the Kumbara Sangha Hostel building, which is used by bachelors, Mohammad Abrar, who owns a tea stall nearby, said.

“All those who died were regular customers of mine,” Abrar said. According to him, the labourers had worked out a deal with the owner to live inside the establishment. The bodies were sent to the state-run Victoria Hospital for an autopsy. GORAKHPUR: A fire broke out on Monday morning at Gorakhpur’s BRD Hospital, where about 60 children died within four days last year, allegedly due to lack of oxygen.

Officials at the hospital said the fire had destroyed some papers and documents in the principal’s office and the hospital’s record room but HT could not verify the claim. SP (north) Ganesh Saha said prima facie, the fire appeared to have been caused by a short circuit. No casualties were reported.

Talking to HT on condition of anonymity, a doctor said the hospital administration failed to control the blaze despite installing an advanced fire management system worth ₹1 crore. Opposition Samajwadi Party termed the fire an act of sabotage to destroy records related to the death of the children. “It should be probed as to how and why only important files were reduced to ashes,” SP district chief Prahlad Yadav said.