Nine, including two women and a child, killed in Kolkata hotel fire

Kolkata Police, on Wednesday, announced the formation of a five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the fire incident at a hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street in central Kolkata, which claimed nine lives, including two women and a child. 

Informing the mediapersons, Joint Commissioner (Crime) of Kolkata Police Kunal Agarwal said the SIT will be headed by a Deputy Commissioner-rank officer, who is currently attached to the detective department of the city police. 

Already, the local New Market Police station, under whose jurisdiction the said hotel building comes, has registered a suo motu case in the matter. A separate complaint had also been launched in the matter by the state fire services department. 

People gather outside after first responders doused an early morning fire at the building. AP

The police, however, have not yet disclosed the identity of the nine persons killed in the fire incident. 

Mirza Ghalib Street area has several cheap hotels, accommodating people coming as tourists from other states and even other countries. Since a major section of those staying in these hotels are from neighbouring Bangladesh coming to Kolkata for medical tourism, there is a possibility that Bangladeshis may be among those nine persons who have been killed in the fire. 

State Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Paul, who visited the spot of the fire, blamed the previous Trinamool Congress regime and the private power generation-cum-distribution entity, CESC Limited, for the mishap. 

"How could the fire services department give permission to run the hotel without a minimum fire safety arrangement in place? How could CESC Limited give electricity connection? What were the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Authorities doing? All of them should be accounted for," said Paul. 

Police and volunteers of a disaster management group stand outside after dousing an early morning fire at a building that housed multiple hotels and guest houses in Kolkata on Wednesday. Photos: AP

She also questioned how multiple hotels and guest houses were operating from a single building. "Many rooms were fitted with AC machines? How could CESC Limited permit that? How could the previous Trinamool Congress-run board in KMC grant them the trade licence? All these factors will be looked into," said Paul. 

Meanwhile, the owner of the building as well as the owners of the hotels and guest houses run from that building have remained incommunicado since the fire broke out early on Wednesday morning. 

The building caretakers and the staff of the hotels and guest houses there have claimed that the respective owners have either switched off their mobiles or were not answering their calls since Wednesday morning. 

Initial findings by the police and the West Bengal Fire Services Department have revealed that the nine people, including two women and a child, killed in the fire incident at the hotel this morning died of suffocation rather than burn injuries. 

Indo-Asian News Service