‘I’m completely destroyed’: Deepak reels from RM40m loss as fire guts his Nilai 3 carpet empire

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 21 — Controversial carpet trader Deepak Jaikishan suffered massive losses today after a fire destroyed his carpet factory and showroom in Nilai 3, wiping out a decade of work.

“We lost the entire building. My entire business is there. I’m completely destroyed. Whatever I have been working on for the last 10 years is completely finished,” Deepak told Malaysiakini.

The fire broke out at around 7am, with the Negeri Sembilan Fire and Rescue Department receiving an alert at 7.49am.

Around 60 firefighters from four stations were dispatched to the scene, where they battled thick smoke and strong winds to contain the blaze.

“No casualties were reported, but putting out the fire took time as it involved carpets, strong winds, and thick smoke,” said the department’s senior operations officer Khir Amir Ahmad, as quoted by Bernama.

Local daily Sinar Harian reported that at least 80 per cent of the premises were destroyed.

Deepak estimated his losses to be between RM30 million and RM40 million, suspecting an electrical short circuit as the cause of the fire.

A vocal critic of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Deepak has been embroiled in multiple lawsuits against them, which he and his company, Carpet Raya Sdn Bhd, failed to reinstate in 2022.

He also made headlines that year when Perikatan Nasional fielded him as a candidate for the Pulai parliamentary seat.

Deepak has been a prominent figure in online political discourse, frequently appearing in tell-all interviews on Jom Channel, where he has alleged fraud, bribery, and murder conspiracies involving Najib and Rosmah.