Kolkata police have arrested the leaseholder of Shikha Inn and detained two hotel staff members in connection with a fire that killed nine people, including seven Bangladeshis, early Wednesday.
The arrested leaseholder has been identified as Abu Zafar. The two hotel staff members have been detained for questioning, while the original owner of the hotel remains absconding, reports The Statesman.
Police have formed a special investigation team to probe the incident and issued safety notices to 13 other establishments in the area. The exact cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
The fire broke out at the multi-storey Shikha Inn on Mirza Ghalib Street near New Market, one of Kolkata’s busiest and most densely populated areas. Around 60 people were rescued from the building.
Seven Bangladeshi nationals were among the nine people killed in the blaze, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said on Thursday.
The ministry had initially confirmed five Bangladeshi deaths on Wednesday, citing local authorities. Police have since identified seven Bangladeshi nationals among the victims.
A Bangladeshi journalist and three members of his family were among those killed. They were identified as Debashish Dutta, 40, his wife Afsana Sharmin, 25, their three-year-old daughter, Shornoshish Dutta, and his father-in-law, Akram Ali, 64.
Debashish was acting editor of Dainik Ajker Alo and also served as Kushtia district correspondent for Ajker Patrika and Channel 9. He was also joint general secretary of the Kushtia Press Club.
According to family sources, Dutta had travelled to Kolkata with his ailing wife for medical treatment. He is survived by another daughter, aged eight, as well as his parents.
Ahmed Babu, 38, a cosmetics businessman from Savar, was also among the victims.
Two residents of Kaliganj upazila in Satkhira were also killed in the fire. They were Alimuzzaman Saju, son of late Yunus Ali of Bareya village, and Rebati Sarkar, wife of Bhavesh Sarkar of Tentulia village, both under Tarali Union.
Saju, who ran a shrimp enclosure business, had travelled to India five to six days earlier for treatment of back pain and was scheduled to return home on Wednesday, according to his brother.
Rebati had travelled to India about three months ago for medical treatment and later returned to Kolkata for a follow-up consultation when she died in the fire, according to her family.
Six Bangladeshi nationals injured in the fire have been released from hospital after receiving primary treatment.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam said the government would bring back the bodies of the Bangladeshi victims after completion of identification and other necessary formalities.
“We have already contacted our deputy high commission in Kolkata and the family members of those who were killed. Once the identification and other formalities are completed, we can bring these bodies back to Bangladesh as soon as possible,” she told reporters on Wednesday.
She said the government would consider bearing the repatriation expenses if the families were unable to afford them.
Officials of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata are maintaining contact with hospitals, local police and relevant Indian authorities to assist the affected Bangladeshis. The mission has also opened a 24-hour helpline for Bangladeshi nationals and their families.
Bodies of journalist’s family to arrive on Friday
The bodies of journalist Debashish Dutta, his wife Afsana Sharmin, their three-and-a-half-year-old son Shornoshish Dutta and Afsana’s father Mohammad Akram Ali are expected to reach Kushtia on Friday, said Debashish’s relative Firoz Hasan Mithu in Kolkata on Thursday.
The bodies are expected to arrive around noon after the completion of legal formalities.
The family has decided to conduct the final rites according to their respective religious traditions. Debashish and Shornoshish will be cremated at Kushtia Mahashmashan, while Afsana and Akram Ali will be buried at the Kushtia Municipal Graveyard.
According to family members, Debashish and Afsana had been married for about 11 years and had two children, eight-year-old daughter Mahima Dutta, also known as Pakhi, and Shornoshish.
Mahima remained in Kushtia with her grandparents while Debashish travelled to India on 3 August with his wife, son and father-in-law for medical treatment. The family later checked into a hotel in Kolkata, where the fire broke out early Wednesday.
The deaths have left the family and the local journalist community in Kushtia grieving.
