Nine dead in Kolkata hotel fire, Bangladesh nationals among victims; lease holder arrested
Kolkata Police on Wednesday night arrested Abu Zafar, the lease holder of Hotel Shikha Inn, where a fire killed nine people, including several Bangladeshi nationals. The arrest came hours after the blaze engulfed the building on Mirza Ghalib Street in central Kolkata.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), Kunal Aggarwal, said a team from the Detective Department picked up Zafar from the Entally main market area. "Later, he was arrested. Two other people, including a staff member of Shikha Inn and the manager of Jaapon Hotel, which operates in the same building, have been detained for questioning," Aggarwal said.
The fire broke out around 2 a.m. inside Shikha Inn, located on the second floor of Florence Mansion in the New Market Police Station area. The five-storey building houses several guesthouses and inns, largely frequented by Bangladeshi nationals visiting Kolkata. Many of these establishments operate on a small scale and serve as budget accommodation for visitors, particularly those coming for medical treatment or shopping.
Around 60 people were rescued from the hotel by fire department personnel and police. Some of the rescued guests were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, according to officials. The rescue operation was challenging as the narrow staircases of the old building restricted movement, and several guests were brought down using ladders.
Among the nine deceased, five have been identified as Bangladeshi nationals. Four of them were from the same family, including reputed journalist Debashish Dutta, who had come from Kushtia upazila in Bangladesh for medical treatment. Two other victims were residents of Bihar and West Bengal's Siliguri. The identities of the remaining two victims are yet to be established, and police are working to trace their families, an officer said.
The Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata has issued helpline numbers – +8801717291266 (WhatsApp), +919903426119 (WhatsApp), and +918274821452 (Mobile) – for families of the injured and the deceased. An official said the commission is functioning round-the-clock and bodies will be repatriated to Bangladesh once the identities of the deceased are confirmed. The commission has also offered assistance in obtaining travel documents for relatives wishing to visit Kolkata.
A five-member special investigation team (SIT), led by the Deputy Commissioner of the Detective Department of Kolkata Police, has been constituted to probe the incident. The SIT will examine all aspects, including whether there were any lapses in fire safety compliance. An FIR has been registered jointly by the police and the fire department under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder and negligence, as well as under the West Bengal Fire Services Act.
The hotel's owner, Bireshwar Mitra, is still absconding, and a search is underway to trace him, police said. The exact cause of the fire has not yet been ascertained, and authorities have not ruled out any possibility. Police are also examining CCTV footage and recording statements from witnesses as part of the investigation.
