Kolkata: FIR lodged after 9 killed in Eastern Railway HQ fire

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has set up a high-level committee to ascertain the cause of the fire

A day after nine people were killed in fire at Eastern Railway’s headquarters in Strand road, Kolkata police Tuesday lodged an FIR in connection with the incident.

“On incident of Fire, Hare street police Case has filed an FIR under section 304A (causing death by negligence) of IPC and Sec.11J & 11L of West Bengal Fire Services Act. Investigation of case taken by DD,” Joint CP (crime) Murlidhar told express.

Three railway personnel including RPF constable Sanjay Sahni, Dy Chief Comm. Manager Partha Sarathi Mondal & Sr Technician Sudip Das, Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police Amit Bhawal, fire officials Girish Dey, Gaurav Bej, Aniruddha Jana, and Biman Purakait were killed in the incident. One person remains unidentified.

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The blaze broke out on the 13th floor of the 14-storied New Koilaghat building on Strand Road at 6.10 pm. According to Fire Minister Sujit Bose, those who died were going up in an elevator for search and rescue.

Expressing condolences, Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of those who lost their lives in the incident.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced ex gratia of rupees two lakh from PMNRF and fifty thousand will be given to those seriously injured. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also announced Rs 10-lakh compensation for the next of kin of the deceased

“Pained beyond words by the extremely tragic fire accident at a building in Kolkata. My deep sympathy and condolences for the bereaved families. I wish for speedy recovery of the injured,” President Ram Nath Kovind tweeted.

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Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has set up a high-level committee to ascertain the cause of the fire

Sweety Kumari

Sweety Kumari reports from West Bengal for The Indian Express. She is a journalist with over a decade of experience in the media industry. Covers Crime, Defence, Health , Politics etc and writes on trending topics. With a keen eye for investigative and human-interest stories. She has honed her craft across diverse beats including aviation, health, incidents etc. Sweety delivers impactful journalism that informs and engages audiences. Sweety Kumari is a graduate of Calcutta University with an Honors degree in Journalism from Jaipuria College and a PG in Mass Communication from Jadavpur University. Originally from Bihar, she is brought up in Kolkata and completed her education from Kendriya Vidyalaya SaltLake. Multilingual, Sweety is fluent in English, Hindi, Bengali, and Maithili. She started her career as an Entertainment and lifestyle journalist with a newsportal in Kolkata. She is working with The Indian Express for 8 years now. ... Read More

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