A day after five persons, including a family of four, were charred to death, the Bengaluru city police Sunday arrested two owners of the building where the accident occurred.
The arrested persons have been identified as Balakrishnaiah Shetty, 68, and Sandeep Shetty, 43.
On Saturday, Madan Kumar Purohit, 36, his wife Sangeetha Kanwar, 32, their two children Mithesh, 8, and Vihan, 5, and a neighbour, Suresh Kumar, 26, died after a fire broke out in the central Bengaluru building where they lived. All deceased were natives of Rajasthan.
A case was registered based on the complaint filed by Gopal Singh, brother of Madan Kumar Purohit. The initial probe has revealed that the fire took place due to a short circuit.
According to a police officer, plastic mats were illegally stored on the ground and first floor of the building. Madan Kumar Purohit and his family lived on the third floor.
Three workers who were sleeping on the first floor managed to escape, said the officer.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar Sunday visited the spot and said, “It is clear that the building owners are at fault. I am going to issue a notice to all the building owners to strengthen their buildings, or else we will have to demolish all of them. The state government has announced Rs 5 lakh compensation each for the victims’ families.”