pic: Hackney Council

A man charged with killing his elderly father and a lodger by setting fire to a maisonette in Shadwell has pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey yesterday.

Aaron Bhasin, 53, who suffers from psychiatric problems such as delusional disorder, pleaded guilty on two counts of manslaughter with the intent to endanger life following the fire on Chapman Street on March 7.

Bhasin was arrested the day of the fire and was charged with the death of his father Ram Bhasin, 82, and Sunil Koosuru, 29, a lodger at the address. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene and were believed to have died of smoke inhalation.

According to the London Fire Brigade, the fire destroyed nearly all of the second and third floors of the four-storey block. The brigade was called around 1am and quickly controlled the blaze.

Bhasin earlier denied the charges of murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility. He will be sentenced on December 2.