Kolkata: Police make another arrest in hotel fire case; 4 held so far

Kolkata, May 5 (IANS) The Kolkata Police on Monday made the fourth arrest in connection with the devastating fire in a hotel at Madan Mohan Burman Street in central Kolkata which broke out on the night of April 29, killing a total of 15 people.

The arrested individual has been identified as Muhammad Sagir Ali, the supervisor of the hotel where the fire broke out.

An insider from the city police said he has been accused as the main person responsible for dumping inflammable items within the hotel premises. He was also in charge of supervising the interior decorations of the hotel.

Earlier, first the owner of the hotel, Akash Chawla, and the manager of the hotel, Gaurav Kapur, were arrested by the cops on May 1, that is two days after the fire broke out. Thereafter, on May 2, Khurshid Alam, whose agency was responsible for carrying out the ongoing renovation and extension work at Hotel Rituraj, was arrested.

Initial findings by the investigation team have revealed that besides lapses related to fire safety management, there were other major lapses in ensuring proper emergency evacuation arrangements and ventilation facilities at the hotel, as a result of which the majority of those killed in the fire died not because of getting charred but because of suffocation caused by the smoke emitting out of the fire.

The local residents alleged that despite several complaints of illegal constructions in the hotel raised in the past, neither the Kolkata Municipal Corporation nor the police took any action to prevent the untoward incident.

Already, both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have announced compensation for the family members of those killed as well as for those who were injured in the fire.

Mamata Banerjee also mentioned that a strong action would be taken against those responsible for the fire.

--IANS

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