The Crossbill News Desk
Two separate hotel fires in West Bengal have left 18 people dead, with nine fatalities reported from a hotel in central Kolkata and another nine from a hotel in Birbhum’s Tarapith. The incidents have raised fresh questions over fire-safety compliance at hotels and other buildings accommodating visitors.
In Kolkata, a blaze broke out at around 1:45 am at Shikha Inn on Mirza Ghalib Street, near the New Market area.
The five-storey building houses 10 hotels. Nine people were killed in the fire, including five Bangladesh nationals and one person identified as a resident of Jharkhand. The victims comprised six men, two women and a child.
Fire and Emergency Services minister Kaushik Chowdhury said around 80 people were rescued from the building. Five fire tenders, along with police and disaster management personnel, were involved in the rescue operation, according to news agency PTI citing police officials.
Firefighters faced difficulties in reaching the upper floors because of dense smoke. Reports have also highlighted that several rooms in the building did not have windows, potentially making evacuation and rescue more difficult.
Bengal’s minister of urban development and municipal affairs, Agnimitra Paul, alleged that the hotels operating in the building did not possess the required trade licences or fire licences. She also said that the families of those who died would receive appropriate compensation.
Minister Chowdhury alleged that there had been “widespread corruption” in fire-safety arrangements and said the government intended to identify such violations through a statewide audit.
“The building management did not comply with basic safety and construction norms,” the minister added.
The Kolkata Police have constituted a six-member Special Investigation Team headed by a Deputy Commissioner-rank officer of the detective department to investigate the incident. The New Market police station has registered a suo motu case, while the Fire and Emergency Services Department has filed a separate complaint.
The fire has also drawn attention to an earlier safety audit. A fire department official said a similar audit was carried out following the Rituraj Hotel fire in April 2025, in which 14 people died. However, the report was allegedly never submitted to either the Fire and Emergency Services Department or the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
The incident has also affected Bangladeshi nationals who had travelled to Kolkata for medical treatment. Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said local authorities were yet to confirm the identities of four victims. Six injured Bangladeshi nationals were discharged after receiving initial treatment, the ministry said.
According to The Daily Star, all those affected had travelled from Bangladesh to Kolkata for medical care.
Meanwhile, another hotel fire was reported in the temple town of Tarapith in Birbhum district. Nine people died after flames broke out on the ground floor of a four-storey hotel at around 4:30 am.
The West Bengal government has arrested the hotel owner and his son in connection with the Tarapith fire. Authorities also shut down 15 hotels in the area after finding fire-safety violations.
The causes of both fires are yet to be established by the police and fire department. With two deadly hotel fires occurring in the same state, scrutiny is now likely to intensify over licensing, building safety standards, emergency exits and enforcement of fire-safety regulations at hotels.
In Kolkata, a blaze broke out at around 1:45 am at Shikha Inn on Mirza Ghalib Street, near the New Market area.
The five-storey building houses 10 hotels. Nine people were killed in the fire, including five Bangladesh nationals and one person identified as a resident of Jharkhand. The victims comprised six men, two women and a child.
Fire and Emergency Services minister Kaushik Chowdhury said around 80 people were rescued from the building. Five fire tenders, along with police and disaster management personnel, were involved in the rescue operation, according to news agency PTI citing police officials.
Firefighters faced difficulties in reaching the upper floors because of dense smoke. Reports have also highlighted that several rooms in the building did not have windows, potentially making evacuation and rescue more difficult.
Bengal’s minister of urban development and municipal affairs, Agnimitra Paul, alleged that the hotels operating in the building did not possess the required trade licences or fire licences. She also said that the families of those who died would receive appropriate compensation.
Minister Chowdhury alleged that there had been “widespread corruption” in fire-safety arrangements and said the government intended to identify such violations through a statewide audit.
“The building management did not comply with basic safety and construction norms,” the minister added.
The Kolkata Police have constituted a six-member Special Investigation Team headed by a Deputy Commissioner-rank officer of the detective department to investigate the incident. The New Market police station has registered a suo motu case, while the Fire and Emergency Services Department has filed a separate complaint.
The fire has also drawn attention to an earlier safety audit. A fire department official said a similar audit was carried out following the Rituraj Hotel fire in April 2025, in which 14 people died. However, the report was allegedly never submitted to either the Fire and Emergency Services Department or the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
The incident has also affected Bangladeshi nationals who had travelled to Kolkata for medical treatment. Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said local authorities were yet to confirm the identities of four victims. Six injured Bangladeshi nationals were discharged after receiving initial treatment, the ministry said.
According to The Daily Star, all those affected had travelled from Bangladesh to Kolkata for medical care.
Meanwhile, another hotel fire was reported in the temple town of Tarapith in Birbhum district. Nine people died after flames broke out on the ground floor of a four-storey hotel at around 4:30 am.
The West Bengal government has arrested the hotel owner and his son in connection with the Tarapith fire. Authorities also shut down 15 hotels in the area after finding fire-safety violations.
The causes of both fires are yet to be established by the police and fire department. With two deadly hotel fires occurring in the same state, scrutiny is now likely to intensify over licensing, building safety standards, emergency exits and enforcement of fire-safety regulations at hotels.
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