West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday visited the fire-ravaged hotel, where a devastating fire killed 14 people in Kolkata's Burra bazar area and promised action against guilty.
There were 88 guests in 42 rooms of the six-storey budget hotel, located in Mechhua in the congested Burrabazar area, when the fire broke out at 8.10 pm on Tuesday.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday visited the fire-ravaged hotel, where a devastating fire killed 14 people in Kolkata's Burra bazar area and promised action against guilty.
This comes hours after the owner and the manager of the central Kolkata hotel, were arrested.
According to Kolkata Police, Akash Chawla, the owner of Rituraj Hotel, and manager Gaurav Kapoor were taken into custody in the morning.
The bodies have been handed over to their families, they said, adding that efforts were underway to ascertain the identities of the remaining two bodies.
There were 88 guests in 42 rooms of the six-storey budget hotel, located in Mechhua in the congested Burrabazar area, when the fire broke out at 8.10 pm on Tuesday.
CM Mamata Banerjee reached the Burrabazar area on her way back from Digha and confirmed that special committees comprising police, administration and fire services department are being set up to monitor and identify establishments which are flouting fire safety norms like that of Rituraj Hotel.
She said, "I am directing the Fire Brigade, Kolkata Corporation... there is no need to take councillor into confidence over this. Just do it as a central team... set up one investigation team where mayor will be there and municipal commissioner, Kolkata CP and all the DCs of Kolkata area and district area...conduct surprise visits and get the detail. I want to see that within 15 days they have to submit report to me. The investigation will be done, and I won't spare anyone."
She reportedly said, "The teams will conduct surprise checks in the city as well as district towns. Those in the administration found guilty of oversight and handing operational NOCs to buildings with inadequate fire safety will also come under the purview of punishment."
"The panels will prepare reports and submit them to my office in the next 15 days," the CM added.
A suo motu case was registered at the Jorasanko police station under various sections of the BNS, including 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), and the West Bengal Fire Services Act against them, they added.
Police said 12 of the 14 bodies recovered from the hotel were identified and their post-mortem examinations completed.
Minister Sujit Bose confirmed that the hotel had defunct fire alarms and sprinklers.
“This is a clear case of negligence. The hotel had no active fire safety systems in place,” he said.
Director General of Fire Services Ranvir Kumar revealed that the hotel라이브 바카라 fire safety clearance had expired in 2022.
“An FIR has been filed, and the hotel owners are absconding,” he said.
A section of officials indicated that a brazen disregard for mandatory firefighting measures in some commercial establishments and persistent lapses by regulatory authorities led to this latest disaster.