Kolkata: 14 killed as fire breaks out in hotel

At least 14 persons were killed in a fire at a hotel near the Falpatti Machhua locality in central Kolkata on Tuesday, ANI reported.

Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma said that the fire broke out at around 8.15 pm within the premises of the Rituraj Hotel. “Fourteen bodies have been recovered and several people have been rescued by the teams,” he added.

The fire was under control, Kumar said, adding that the rescue operation was in progress. The officer said that further investigation is underway, and a special team has been formed for it.

#WATCH | Kolkata, West Bengal | A fire breaks out in a building near Falpatti Machhua. Fire tenders present at the spot. Efforts to douse the fire are underway. More details awaited. pic.twitter.com/pmCT6zeGVW— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2025

Following the incident, West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party chief Sukanta Majumdar on Tuesday said that “serious questions” were being raised about the “silence of the state’s administrative head in the face of such a heartbreaking and tragic loss of lives in the state”.

The Union minister added: “While the innocent and helpless people are burning and dying in unbearable pain, the Chief Minister [Mamata Banerjee] is busy exploiting religion for political gain.”

West Bengal Congress chief Subhankar Sarkar also criticised the Kolkata Municipal Corporation for...

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