A tea break, an unattended oil fryer left burning, and a cook who quietly walked away without alerting anyone as flames began to spread — these lapses have now emerged as critical links in a chain of failures leading to the Malviya Nagar hotel fire that claimed 22 lives.Investigations have revealed that a nearly 30-minute delay before the first emergency call was made allowed the fire to intensify unchecked, turning what began as a routine kitchen oversight into a devastating tragedy that may have been prevented with timely action.According to the police, the fire at Flourish Stays B&B in Malviya Nagar’s Hauz Rani area on June 3 began after an oil fryer was inadvertently left switched on while the cook prepared tea for himself.As the oil in the fryer reached its auto-ignition temperature, it ignited suddenly, setting the ceiling ablaze and triggering a rapidly-spreading fire that quickly engulfed the building. The blaze spread faster, fuelled further by highly inflammable materials such as cartons stored within the premises.While the probe deepened, hotel owner Lavkesh Bajaj’s close associate and accountant Jay Mishra (34) surrendered before a Delhi court on Monday and was sent to two days’ police custody. Investigators believe Mishra played a key role in the day-to-day management of the establishment and are examining his involvement in the hotel’s operations, finances, licensing and compliance with safety regulations.Police are also preparing to seek technical assistance from IIT-Delhi to scientifically examine how the blaze spread so rapidly through the building.Officials said the institute may be asked to conduct a structural and fire-propagation study, including possible 3D mapping of the gutted premises, to help reconstruct the sequence of events and identify factors that trapped occupants inside.According to investigators, three staff members were present in the building when the fire started on June 4 — cook Keshav Negi, a helper sleeping on the top floor, and manager Rupesh alias Rakesh.During questioning, Negi allegedly told police that he switched on a fryer containing oil and then prepared tea for himself. While drinking tea, he forgot that the fryer was still running. After it overheated, it burst into flames that spread to the ceiling before engulfing nearby combustible material.Police said Negi initially attempted to extinguish the flames but fled when the fire grew beyond his control.Investigators allege that he failed to warn guests, inform neighbours or call emergency services despite having sufficient time to do so.”The gap between the first signs of fire and the first call to police was around half an hour. This period is being closely examined because timely evacuation and alerting authorities could have reduced the scale of the tragedy,” a source said.The helper sleeping on the top floor escaped by jumping from the terrace, while manager Rupesh allegedly fled from the reception area on the ground floor. Police are still searching for him.Investigators believe the failure of staff members to immediately raise an alarm may have contributed to the high death toll. A Nigerian national undergoing treatment succumbed to injuries on Saturday, taking the number of deaths to 22.The deceased was identified as Okale, who had suffered severe burns and was undergoing treatment at Safdarjung Hospital.Police have confirmed that Bajaj reached the site after the fire had broken out. They also clarified that contrary to some claims, the hotel did not have an electronic gate system.The investigation has been complicated by the destruction of CCTV cameras and footage, both inside and outside the building, due to the fire. Police said Bajaj owns three hotels in the Hauz Rani area, one of which is operated with a business partner.Mishra, who had been absconding since the incident, surrendered before Judicial Magistrate Bhanu Pratap Singh and was formally arrested by Delhi Police.According to police, Mishra had earlier been booked in 2024 in connection with the absence of safety and security arrangements at the hotel under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Investigators have also found that several key hotel-related documents were in his name.Police sources said Mishra has known Bajaj for nearly a decade and functioned as a frontman for several of his business ventures while simultaneously handling financial and accounting matters.During questioning, Bajaj allegedly told investigators that he had delegated the hotel’s day-to-day operations to Mishra. Officers are now scrutinising documents, financial records and ownership papers to determine responsibility for the hotel’s functioning and alleged safety lapses.Preliminary findings indicate that the building itself may have contributed to the scale of the disaster. The structure was allegedly constructed without requisite approvals, and investigators suspect that extensive use of wood and plastic decorative materials in staircases, ceilings and flooring accelerated the spread of flames.Police are also examining whether the building’s single entry-exit route became a death trap after it filled with dense smoke and heat, preventing guests on upper floors from escaping.The proposed IIT-Delhi study is expected to analyse burn patterns, damaged staircases, electrical wiring, LPG cylinders, gas pipelines and collapsed structural components to determine how the fire travelled through the building and whether architectural deficiencies aggravated the disaster.The blaze ripped through the five-storey hotel on June 3, killing 22 people, including a 16-year-old girl and foreign nationals from Nigeria, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Congo, Mozambique and Liberia.Police have arrested Bajaj and Negi and booked the owner under charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Several other persons associated with the establishment are being questioned as investigators await final reports from the Forensic Science Laboratory.