The violation of fire safety norms and regulations may have led to the death of the eight people in Secunderabad’s Ruby Pride Hotel, police have said. On the night of Monday, September 12, a massive fire broke out from Ruby Motors, an e-bike showroom located in the basement of the same building as the hotel. Over 25 people were trapped in the hotel as the fire engulfed the building, leaving eight people dead and nearly a dozen injured. As the investigation is underway, the police have so far identified five among the eight deceased and two injured persons, while the remaining are yet to be identified.
Located in the vicinity of the passport office in Secunderabad, the ground-plus-four structure which housed the Ruby Pride hotel had 28 rooms, and at the time of the incident, as many as 25 people were staying there. Police said that the e-bike showroom in the basement was being run illegally for the past year, without the proper approvals. Further, the Director General of Fire Safety also said that the building did not adhere to fire safety norms, as any building measuring above 15 metres in height is supposed to have two exits. However, the Ruby Pride hotel, which is 17.5 metres in height, only had one exit, hindering the occupants’ escape. The entrance to the building, which is located next to the bike showroom, was blocked by fire and smoke, and many occupants were injured when they tried to escape the burning building by jumping from the windows. Fire safety officials also said that the hotel had sprinklers installed, however, as the fire originated in the e-bike showroom in the basement and only the smoke spread to the lodge, the sprinklers were not triggered. The primary violation is that the cellar in the building was used for business activity which is illegal.
North Zone Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Chandana Deepthi, said, “There were gas cylinders, electric bikes, open batteries, generators and petrol bikes too in the cellar. We cannot ascertain what caused the fire. We also cannot say at this moment if there was an explosion.” The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) has been ordered to probe into the cause of the explosion. The Electricity Department and the Fire department will also look into the reason for the fire.
Based on a complaint by one of the lodge’s occupants, the Market police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Rajender Singh Bugga, Sumeet Singh and Brothers, the owners of Ruby Hotel and Ruby Motors. The police have registered a case under sections 304 (Punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 337 (Causing hurt by doing an act of negligence as to endanger human life), and section 9b of the Explosives Act 1884 against the management of the lodge. The accused are said to be absconding.