Bengal: Six bodies identified in Kolkata hotel fire tragedy

Kolkata, Aug 19 (IANS) The police administration till Wednesday evening had identified six out of nine individuals killed in the fire incident at a hotel building on Mirza Ghalib Street in central Kolkata on Wednesday.

Among the six bodies identified so far, five were residents of neighbouring Bangladesh, while one was a resident of Giridih in Jharkhand. All five Bangladeshi nationals were tourists, while the youth from Giridih was a staff member in one of the hotels housed in the building.

Of the Bangladeshi tourists, four were from the same family: Debasish Dutta, his wife Afsana Sharmiin, their three-year-old son Swarnasish Dutta, and Afsana’s father Mohammad Akram.

They had come to Kolkata for Akram’s medical treatment. They were residents of Kushtia district in Bangladesh, and Debasish was a journalist.

The fifth Bangladeshi victim was identified as Babu Ahmed, a resident of Dhaka.

The youth from Giridih was identified as Sandeep Paswan, who worked as reception staff in one of the hotels in the building.

Efforts are underway to identify the remaining three victims. Police confirmed that all nine died of suffocation rather than burn injuries. Police have not made any arrests so far.

The West Bengal government has announced a detailed special audit of all hotels, lodges and guest houses in the Mirza Ghalib Street area following the incident.

Meanwhile, Kolkata Police has formed a five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the fire. A deputy commissioner-rank officer from the detective department will head the SIT.

The New Market Police Station, under whose jurisdiction the building falls, has registered a suo motu case. The state fire services department has also lodged a separate complaint.

–IANS

src/dan