Overview
- Additional Sessions Judge Nandkishor More convicted Bablu Paswan of criminal negligence under IPC sections 304A, 338 and 285, imposing a one‑year rigorous imprisonment term.
- The court rejected the prosecution’s bid for culpable homicide, ruling there was no evidence Paswan intended to cause death.
- Co‑accused Abdul Sidhique Jabbar Khan was acquitted after the court found insufficient evidence that he ignited the fire by throwing a lit cigarette.
- Prosecutors said Paswan emptied inflammable gas from cylinders into an open drainage near the Friends Shejar Committee Chawl despite resident warnings, leading to a blaze that severely burned multiple people.
- Reports differ on fatalities, with PTI/Mid‑day citing four deaths including two children, while the Free Press Journal lists five named victims, with several others injured.