Four days after a fire at Shikha Inn in central Kolkata claimed nine lives, police on Saturday arrested the hotel’s owner, Bireshwar Mitra, from his home in Behala. Mitra, 46, had been missing since the fire broke out at the hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street early Wednesday.
According to the police sources, Mitra had fled Kolkata in his car and went into hiding in Dhanbad Jharkand. Bireshwar Mitra, 46, the owner of the ‘Shikha Inn’ hotel in Mirza Galib street where the fateful fire had claimed nine lives , was arrested from Behala.
Mitra had been missing since a fire broke out in the hotel early Wednesday morning. According to police sources, Mitra had fled Kolkata in his car and went into hiding in Dhanbad, Jharkhand.
He returned to his home on Diamond Harbour Road in Behala on Saturday, where police arrested him. The police are probing why he returned after leaving the city and whether anyone helped him evade the police.
Police said that two of Mitra’s bank accounts had been frozen, bringing his financial transactions to a halt. Officials suspect he may have returned because he was running short of cash. Mitra has several employees whose homes are in Jharkhand and police are examining whether he stayed with or received assistance from them.
Police had been searching for Mitra since the fire. His two hotels in Digha and Mandarmani were also raided on Friday, but he was not found there. Officers said Mitra had spoken to a hotel employee by phone early on Wednesday, following which his mobile phone was switched off.
The police will produce Bireshwar in court on Sunday and will seek his custody for further interrogation.
The fire at Shikha Inn killed nine people, including seven Bangladeshi nationals.
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The probe has also widened to others associated with the hotel. Abu Zafar, who had leased Shikha Inn from Mitra for a monthly rent of Rs 40,000, was earlier arrested by the Kolkata Police Detective Department.
Two other men, Umesh Singh and Jiten Singh, who had leased another portion of the building from Mitra, were questioned on Friday.
The fire has meanwhile triggered a wider crackdown on hotels and guest houses in central Kolkata. On Saturday, 25 hotels, inns and restaurants in the Free School Street-Marquis Street-New Market stretch were issued show-cause notices for alleged violations of fire safety norms, according to Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials. The action followed inspections by joint teams of the civic body and fire department.
Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Agnimitra Paul, who inspected hotels and guest houses in the area, said establishments found lacking in fire safety measures would face stronger action.
“Notices do not serve any purpose. If guests are staying in the hotel, give them 24 hours to vacate and then seal it. If all the documents are subsequently found to be in order, it can be reopened,” Paul said.
Officials said 13 establishments were vacated on Friday following notices served a day earlier, while another 16 were asked to vacate on Saturday. The establishments will be given an opportunity to present their cases during hearings before the respective Divisional Fire Officers.
The administration had earlier closed 11 hotels in the New Market area during a joint inspection drive on Friday, while six more were closed on Saturday. The fire department had also issued show-cause notices to 16 hotels on Friday and 25 more on Saturday.
Tanusree Bose is a dedicated journalist reporting for The Indian Express from Kolkata. Her work focuses sharply on the complex administrative, political, and judicial developments across West Bengal, establishing her as an authoritative voice in regional news coverage.
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