Kolkata Police have named three accused in a 350-page chargesheet detailing alleged safety violations and electrical overload behind the Hotel Shikha Inn fire.
At A Glance
1. Three accused named: Police have chargesheeted hotel owner Bireshwar Moitra, lessee Abu Zafar and his wife Saba Zafar.
2. Safety violations alleged: Investigators cite electrical overload, unauthorised room modifications and illegal hotel operations.
3. Nine people killed: The August 18-19 fire claimed nine lives, mostly Bangladeshi nationals visiting Kolkata for medical treatment.
Kolkata Police have filed a 350-page chargesheet against three persons in the Hotel Shikha Inn fire case that claimed nine lives, including a child, in August. Investigators have cited alleged fire safety violations, illegal hotel operations and electrical overload as key factors behind the tragedy.
Police submitted the chargesheet to a Kolkata court on Thursday (Nov 12). It names the hotel’s original owner, its lessee and his wife as accused.
Three persons named in chargesheet
The accused include Bireshwar Moitra, the original owner of Hotel Shikha Inn on Mirza Ghalib Street. The second accused is Abu Zafar, who leased the property from Moitra.
The third accused is Abu’s wife, Saba Zafar. She allegedly remained absconding after the August 18-19 fire. Kolkata Police arrested her on October 28.
A senior police official said the chargesheet contains statements from 90 witnesses. Investigators have also submitted a forensic report.
The accused face charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. These include culpable homicide, attempted culpable homicide, endangering human life and criminal conspiracy.
Electrical overload and fire safety violations
The chargesheet details several alleged violations inside the hotel. According to investigators, the management divided the original large rooms into multiple smaller rooms.
Almost every room had an air conditioner. Police allege that the installation of numerous AC units without following safety regulations overloaded the electrical system.
A police official said the fire originated from an electrical board before spreading rapidly to the hotel rooms.
The investigation also revealed that the building originally served as a residential complex. Its owners allegedly converted it into a hotel without obtaining approval from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) or the West Bengal Fire Services Department.
The building housed Hotel Shikha Inn and several other lodges.
Nine people died in August fire
The fire broke out on the building’s third floor during the intervening night of August 18 and 19. Thick smoke quickly filled the hotel rooms and trapped the occupants.
Most of the nine victims died from suffocation. The majority were Bangladeshi nationals who had travelled to Kolkata for medical treatment.
Hotel owner and lessees arrested
Police initially found the hotel’s original owner, Bireshwar Moitra, absconding after the incident. Investigators later arrested him from his residence in Behala, on Kolkata’s southern outskirts.
During interrogation, Moitra reportedly told police that he had leased the hotel to Abu Zafar and his wife, Saba Zafar, for a monthly rent of Rs 40,000.
Police arrested Abu Zafar shortly after the fire. However, his wife evaded arrest until October 28, when investigators finally took her into custody.
The chargesheet now places the three accused at the centre of the investigation into one of Kolkata’s deadliest recent hotel fire incidents.