India, June 5 -- Lavkesh Bajaj, the owner of the Flourish Stay B&B where a fire killed 21 people, arrived at the scene while the blaze was raging, and stood there for about 10-15 minutes before disappearing, a local resident said on Thursday.

Mohammed Wasim, 37, a resident, said he reached the spot around 8.30 am and saw smoke billowing from the building. "I called Bajaj at 8:52am and spoke for 26 seconds. I told him the fire was massive. He said he knew. I asked him to come and then hung up," Wasim said.

Bajaj, he said, arrived about 10 minutes later. "I saw him standing in a white T-shirt. I was busy with rescue operations, so I didn't talk to him, but I know he stayed there for 10-15 minutes," Wasim added.

Wasim and police said Baja...