Kolkata: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Kolkata Police probing the fire incident at a multi-storey building on Mirza Ghalib Street in Central Kolkata, which claimed nine lives, has arrested one person, said officials on Thursday.

Each floor of the said building had separate hotels or guesthouses, and the source of the fire was one such hotel, “Shikha Inn”. The person arrested by the city police this morning has been identified as Abu Zafar, who had taken the hotel on lease from the original owner, Bireshwar Mitra.

Zafar was arrested from his residence in Jorasanko, North Kolkata. He will be presented at a city court later in the day, and the public prosecutor will seek his police custody.

Mitra, the original owner of the hotel, is still absconding. Besides arresting Zafra, the members of the SIT have detained two other persons, reportedly staff of the hotel, for questioning. However, the city police are yet to disclose their identities.

The State Fire Services Department has issued show-cause notices to nine other hotels and four restaurants on Mirza Ghalib Street for non-compliance with safety regulations. They have been asked to respond within the next 24 hours.

The five-storey building on Mirza Ghalib Street housed multiple hotels and guesthouses, with each having shacks. Hotel ‘Shikha Inn’ was on the third floor of the same building, covering an area of ​​1,100 square feet.

There had been numerous allegations of irregularities at this hotel. The hotel caught fire late Tuesday night. Nine people lost their lives in the fire.

The West Bengal government has announced a detailed special audit of all hotels, lodges and guesthouses in the Mirza Ghalib Street area following the incident.

The New Market Police Station, under whose jurisdiction the building falls, has registered a suo motu case. The State Fire Services Department has also lodged a separate complaint.

Bogota, Aug 19: The death toll from the recent magnitude 7.4 earthquake in Colombia has risen to 312, with 4,611 people injured and 290 missing, according to the local authorities.

The National Unit for Disaster Risk Management reported that the quake had affected 470 municipalities in 15 departments, adding that 277 buildings had collapsed, while close to 30,000 homes were destroyed and over 134,000 others damaged.

National and international search-and-rescue teams continued combing through the rubble to locate the missing people, with 358 people reportedly rescued so far.

Colombia’s Foreign Ministry said more than 220 tonnes of humanitarian aid had arrived in the country and 144 international specialists had joined emergency response efforts, Xinhua news agency reported.

Many affected residents remained in temporary shelters and tents in parks in the hardest-hit areas of Valle del Cauca, Risaralda and Choco.

Last week, India sent the first tranche of 20 metric tonnes of relief supplies to Colombia to support recovery efforts following the devastating earthquake that had rocked the country.

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar had expressed India’s solidarity with the people of Colombia during these difficult times.

“Dispatched the first tranche of the 20 MT relief supplies to Colombia to support ongoing post-earthquake recovery efforts. The assistance includes medicines and medical equipment, temporary shelter and hygiene support, and other essential items needed in the aftermath of the disaster. India stands in solidarity with the people of Colombia during these difficult times,” EAM Jaishankar posted on X.

The assistance underscores India’s role as a first responder during global natural disasters. India sent the assistance after an earthquake of magnitude 7.3 struck Colombia on August 10, killing hundreds of people and injuring nearly four thousand with many missing.

The earthquake had struck Western Colombia at 7:34 am (local time), according to the Colombian Geological Service. The epicentre of the earthquake was near San Jose del Palmar and occurred at a depth of 96 kilometres.

As many as 44,936 families and 102,105 people in 15 departments and 426 municipalities have been impacted by the earthquake in Colombia, the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management said. It further stated that 10,677 homes had been destroyed while 65,841 others have been damaged by the earthquake.

Kolkata, Aug 19: Kolkata Police, on Wednesday, announced the formation of a five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the fire incident at a hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street in central Kolkata, which claimed nine lives, including two women and a child.

Informing the media persons, Joint Commissioner (Crime) of Kolkata Police Kunal Agarwal said the SIT will be headed by a Deputy Commissioner-rank officer, who is currently attached to the detective department of the city police.

Already, the local New Market Police station, under whose jurisdiction the said hotel building comes, has registered a suo motu case in the matter. A separate complaint had also been launched in the matter by the state fire services department.

The police, however, have not yet disclosed the identity of the nine persons killed in the fire incident.

Mirza Ghalib Street area has several cheap hotels, accommodating people coming as tourists from other states and even other countries. Since a major section of those staying in these hotels are from neighbouring Bangladesh coming to Kolkata for medical tourism, there is a possibility that Bangladeshis may be among those nine persons who have been killed in the fire.

State Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Paul, who visited the spot of the fire, blamed the previous Trinamool Congress regime and the private power generation-cum-distribution entity, CESC Limited, for the mishap.

“How could the fire services department give permission to run the hotel without a minimum fire safety arrangement in place? How could CESC Limited give electricity connection? What were the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Authorities doing? All of them should be accounted for,” said Paul.

She also questioned how multiple hotels and guest houses were operating from a single building. “Many rooms were fitted with AC machines? How could CESC Limited permit that? How could the previous Trinamool Congress-run board in KMC grant them the trade license? All these factors will be looked into,” said Paul.

Meanwhile, the owner of the building as well as the owners of the hotels and guest houses run from that building have remained incommunicado since the fire broke out early this morning.

The building caretakers and the staff of the hotels and guest houses there have claimed that the respective owners have either switched off their mobiles or were not answering their calls since this morning.

Initial findings by the police and the West Bengal Fire Services Department have revealed that the nine people, including two women and a child, killed in the fire incident at the hotel this morning died of suffocation rather than burn injuries