Kolkata, 13 November (H.S.) : Kolkata Police has concluded its investigation and filed a chargesheet regarding the devastating fire at Hotel Shikha Inn on Mirza Ghalib Street. The tragic incident, which occurred on the intervening night of August 18 and 19, claimed the lives of nine people, including a child. The police informed on Friday that three individuals have been named as accused in the case.

The 350-page chargesheet was submitted before a lower court in Kolkata on Thursday. The first person named is Bireshwar Moitra, the original owner of the hotel. The second accused is Abu Zafar, who had taken the property on lease from Moitra. The third name in the chargesheet is Abu's wife, Saba Zafar, who had been absconding since the tragedy and was arrested by the city police last month.

A Kolkata Police official stated that the chargesheet contains the recorded statements of 90 witnesses. The accused have been charged under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempt to commit culpable homicide, endangering life, and criminal conspiracy. A forensic report has also been submitted to the court alongside the chargesheet.

The document details the horror of the incident and highlights instances of gross negligence. According to the police official, the chargesheet mentions how the originally spacious hotel rooms were illegally partitioned into multiple smaller rooms. Almost every room was equipped with an air conditioner. The installation of numerous air conditioning units without adhering to safety regulations resulted in an electrical overload. The fire originated from an electrical board and rapidly engulfed the rooms.

The investigation further revealed that the building housing Shikha Inn and several other lodges was originally a residential complex. It was unlawfully converted into a commercial hotel without obtaining the requisite permissions from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the West Bengal Fire Services Department.

Following the outbreak of the fire on the third floor of the building, dense smoke quickly filled the hotel rooms, leading to the death of nine individuals due to suffocation. The majority of the victims were Bangladeshi nationals who had travelled to Kolkata for medical treatment.

The original owner, Bireshwar Moitra, fled the scene immediately after the incident but was apprehended shortly thereafter from his residence in Behala, situated on the southern outskirts of Kolkata. During interrogation, he disclosed that he had leased the hotel to Abu Zafar and his wife for a monthly rent of Rs 40,000. While the police arrested Abu shortly after the incident, Saba managed to evade capture until her arrest on October 28.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh