Overview
- A fire broke out in the ground-floor reception of Hotel Bideshini early Monday when most guests were asleep, and dense smoke quickly trapped occupants on upper floors.
- District officials say the death toll has risen to nine, including five members of one Meghalaya family, and several injured people remain under treatment at Rampurhat hospital.
- Police detained the hotel owner and his son as part of a criminal inquiry and registered cases to probe possible lapses in maintenance and emergency response.
- Witnesses and inspectors reported closed or blocked emergency exits and a defunct fire alarm while initial work points to a short circuit near the reception; forensic teams from the Durgapur FSL have been called in to collect samples.
- The Birbhum administration has ordered special audits of electrical and firefighting systems in Tarapith lodging before upcoming festivals, and authorities have pledged compensation and stricter enforcement following a second deadly hotel blaze in Kolkata days later.