Two people have been arrested in connection with a fatal fire that ripped through a building killing five, including three of an Indian-origin family, in the city of Leicester last week, the British Police said on Saturday.
Two people have been arrested in connection with a fatal fire that ripped through a building killing five, including three of an Indian-origin family, in the city of Leicester last week, the British Police said on Saturday.
The men, both in their 30s, were arrested on Friday on suspicion of conspiracy to cause an explosion and for offences under the UK's Proceeds of Crime Act and remain in custody along with three others held earlier in the week on suspicion of manslaughter, police said.
The further arrests came as police formally identified members of the Indian-origin family from Mauritius that were among the five people "missing", feared dead in the February 25 incident.
"Out of respect for the families of those missing feared dead and those injured, and in order not to jeopardise the ongoing investigation, we request that the media and public refrain from speculating about the identities of those arrested, the circumstances that led to their arrests, and about the cause of the explosion," a police statement said.
It said that no further details on the identities of those arrested will be released at this stage.
Brothers Shane Ragoobeer, 18, and Sean Ragoobeer, 17, who lived in the flat above the Polish shop Zabka have been identified following "detailed forensic enquiries conducted over several days".
Their mother, 46-year-old Mary Ragoobeer, is yet to be formally identified but police said the fifth body is believed to be of the local cafe worker.
The others killed in the explosion and ensuing fire on February 25 include 18-year-old Leah Beth Reek, Shane's girlfriend, and 22-year-old Viktorija Ijevleva, a shop-worker at the Polish mini-supermarket. An inquest into their deaths will be conducted at a later date.
Meanwhile, some local reports speculating on the cause of the fatal fire believe it could have been caused by an illegal vodka distillery in the basement of the shop. Officers investigating the fire have searched the house of Aram Kurd, 33, the owner of the Zabka mini-supermarket, but have refused to confirm if he is among those arrested.
Earlier in the week, the leader of the local council had said that the blast was "an accident" and "a gas explosion seems the most plausible cause", but no witnesses have reported smelling gas on the site.
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