<p>Five employees of a dingy bar were killed in a fire that broke out in the early hours on Monday.</p>.<p>Prasad (20), Rangaswamy (23) from Gubbi, Mahesh (35), from Channarayapatna, Manjunath (45) from Hassan, and Keerthi (24) from Mandya choked to death at Kailash Bar and Restaurant in Kalasipalyam.</p>.<p>The bar is on the ground floor of the three-storey Kumbaara Sangha building.</p>.<p>Bar cashier Ramachandra received an alert around 2.45 am from Nagappa, who lives in a building adjoining the bar.</p>.<p>Ramachandra then called Prasad, one of those sleeping inside the bar, to ask what had happened.</p>.<p>"Prasad was crying and said the bar was engulfed by smoke. He spoke for three minutes and then cut the call," he told DH.</p>.<p>Ramachandra tried calling Prasad a few minutes later but got no response. He informed the fire service and rushed to the spot, but it was too late.</p>.<p>No ventilation</p>.<p>Two fire tenders and a fire rescue vehicle reached the spot only around 4 am.</p>.<p>The fire force had a tough time opening the metal shutter as it was hot. The workers had died by the time rescue staff gained entry.</p>.<p>Four bodies were found near the toilet on the first floor, while the fifth was on the ground floor.</p>.<p>Mahesh, found near the bar counter near the shutter, had burn wounds on his hands.</p>.<p>The others were found near the toilet, accessed by a flight of metal stairs from the ground floor.</p>.<p>All five died of asphyxiation, the police suspect. The post-mortem was conducted at Victoria Hospital and the reports are awaited.</p>.<p>Criminal negligence</p>.<p>Kalasipalyam police have registered a case of criminal negligence and culpable homicide not amounting to murder.</p>.<p>"We have booked the bar owner and licence holder. We are checking if the bar was sublet and will fix culpability," said city police commissioner T Suneel Kumar.</p>.<p>He has ordered an inquiry and expects a report within four days.</p>.<p>The building is 70 years old, and the Class 9 excise licence holder has been identified as V R Dayashankar, whom the police learnt was a paralytic.</p>.<p>The bar was run by his brother Prakash and Somashekar, who holds stakes in the business.</p>.<p>Locked inside?</p>.<p>The five employees were locked inside the bar by the cashier, who retained the keys, families of the fire victims told DH.</p>.<p>The employees had no way to open the shutter and run to safety, they lamented.</p>.<p>Ramachandra, the cashier, told the police the workers had a set of keys, but couldn't explain why they had not been able to open the shutter and escape to safety.<br /><br />What caused the fire?</p>.<div>Among the devices inside were a fridge, digital video recorder connected to CCTV cameras, and a UPS with batteries.</div>.<div>The police suspect the fire was caused by a short circuit.</div>.<div>The Electrical Inspectorate and experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory will investigate the cause of the fire, police said.</div>.<div>Room infested</div>.<div>For about a week, the five employees had been retiring at night at the bar as their room on the second floor was infested with bedbugs and rats.</div>
<p>Five employees of a dingy bar were killed in a fire that broke out in the early hours on Monday.</p>.<p>Prasad (20), Rangaswamy (23) from Gubbi, Mahesh (35), from Channarayapatna, Manjunath (45) from Hassan, and Keerthi (24) from Mandya choked to death at Kailash Bar and Restaurant in Kalasipalyam.</p>.<p>The bar is on the ground floor of the three-storey Kumbaara Sangha building.</p>.<p>Bar cashier Ramachandra received an alert around 2.45 am from Nagappa, who lives in a building adjoining the bar.</p>.<p>Ramachandra then called Prasad, one of those sleeping inside the bar, to ask what had happened.</p>.<p>"Prasad was crying and said the bar was engulfed by smoke. He spoke for three minutes and then cut the call," he told DH.</p>.<p>Ramachandra tried calling Prasad a few minutes later but got no response. He informed the fire service and rushed to the spot, but it was too late.</p>.<p>No ventilation</p>.<p>Two fire tenders and a fire rescue vehicle reached the spot only around 4 am.</p>.<p>The fire force had a tough time opening the metal shutter as it was hot. The workers had died by the time rescue staff gained entry.</p>.<p>Four bodies were found near the toilet on the first floor, while the fifth was on the ground floor.</p>.<p>Mahesh, found near the bar counter near the shutter, had burn wounds on his hands.</p>.<p>The others were found near the toilet, accessed by a flight of metal stairs from the ground floor.</p>.<p>All five died of asphyxiation, the police suspect. The post-mortem was conducted at Victoria Hospital and the reports are awaited.</p>.<p>Criminal negligence</p>.<p>Kalasipalyam police have registered a case of criminal negligence and culpable homicide not amounting to murder.</p>.<p>"We have booked the bar owner and licence holder. We are checking if the bar was sublet and will fix culpability," said city police commissioner T Suneel Kumar.</p>.<p>He has ordered an inquiry and expects a report within four days.</p>.<p>The building is 70 years old, and the Class 9 excise licence holder has been identified as V R Dayashankar, whom the police learnt was a paralytic.</p>.<p>The bar was run by his brother Prakash and Somashekar, who holds stakes in the business.</p>.<p>Locked inside?</p>.<p>The five employees were locked inside the bar by the cashier, who retained the keys, families of the fire victims told DH.</p>.<p>The employees had no way to open the shutter and run to safety, they lamented.</p>.<p>Ramachandra, the cashier, told the police the workers had a set of keys, but couldn't explain why they had not been able to open the shutter and escape to safety.<br /><br />What caused the fire?</p>.<div>Among the devices inside were a fridge, digital video recorder connected to CCTV cameras, and a UPS with batteries.</div>.<div>The police suspect the fire was caused by a short circuit.</div>.<div>The Electrical Inspectorate and experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory will investigate the cause of the fire, police said.</div>.<div>Room infested</div>.<div>For about a week, the five employees had been retiring at night at the bar as their room on the second floor was infested with bedbugs and rats.</div>