India, June 6 -- Lovkesh Bajaj, owner of the Hauz Rani bed-and-breakfast (B&B) where a fire killed 21 people on Wednesday, was arrested last year and booked for cheating, forgery, and other charges for allegedly participating in a passport fraud, investigators aware of the matter said on Friday.

Officials cited above said that Bajaj "knowingly" allowed a Bangladeshi woman, her daughter and grandson to use his residential address to fraudulently obtain Indian identity documents, including passports and Aadhaar cards, facilitating their illegal stay in India. He was arrested in January 2025 and remained in custody for 20 days before being released on bail.

"Bajaj knowingly allowed the Bangladeshi nationals to use his residential address -...