Taratala warehouse collapse: Building plan was sanctioned by Firhad Hakim, probe must extend to him, says Agnimitra Paul

West Bengal Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Agnimitra Paul on Thursday demanded that former Kolkata mayor and ex-urban development and municipal affairs minister Firhad Hakim should not be spared after a warehouse collapse in Taratala that claimed 11 lives and sent more than a dozen people to the hospital.

On Thursday evening a special investigation team (SIT) of the Kolkata Police probing the incident arrested Hakim’s former Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Kalicharan Banerjee.

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Reacting to the SIT action, Paul said questioning Banerjee was “very much required”, but maintained that the probe must also extend to Hakim, alleging that the sanctioned building plan bore the former mayor’s signature.

“This person, Kalicharan Banerjee, was the OSD to the previous Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister and the mayor of Kolkata. I was hearing that he was the last word and whatever Kalicharan said would be final. But the signatures were of Mr Firhad Hakim. Then why won’t Firhad Hakim be picked up? He needs to answer, because his signature is there everywhere,” Paul told reporters.

She said Hakim could not evade responsibility as he had served both as the Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister and as mayor of Kolkata when, according to her, illegal constructions were allegedly being sanctioned without proper monitoring.

“How can he avoid his responsibility of being the UDMA minister and the mayor of Kolkata, where such illegal buildings have been given permission and there has been no monitoring? How could you sanction this plan, and after sanctioning it, there was no monitoring?” Paul said.

The minister said that Hakim must answer for the deaths in the collapse and for those injured in hospital.

“Mr Firhad Hakim, you need to take responsibility for the people who have died, for those who are suffering in hospitals, and for the families who are crying. Only because you are an MLA or a previous minister, you should not be spared,” she said.

The under-construction warehouse collapsed on Wednesday as concrete was poured over corrugated sheets of iron that were supported by beam-like structures that could not hold the weight.

The warehouse was being built by a private operator on 6,689 sq m of land leased out by the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Authority (SMPA).

Rescue operations continued for the second day on Thursday, with at least one person being pulled out alive from the debris.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 1 lakh for the injured. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the families of those killed and Rs 50,000 for the injured.

An FIR has been lodged under Sections 105, 110 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, pertaining to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempt to commit culpable homicide and joint criminal liability.

The FIR named six persons, of whom structural engineer Kamal Samanta, Syed MD Gulzar Hussain, Sambhunath Behera, Dibakar Bhandari and Abdul Hamid have been arrested.

The issue also reverberated in the Assembly, where West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari launched a sharp attack on the erstwhile Trinamool Congress government over the warehouse collapse, claiming that five arrests had been made so far and naming several Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) officials whom he accused of failing to discharge their duties.

Adhikari named Aminur Sheikh, sub-assistant engineer; Nirmalendu Sardar, assistant engineer; and Ranjan Das, executive engineer, and alleged that they had failed to carry out their responsibilities in connection with the building.

He also referred to Kalicharan Banerjee and said, “Kali ke tulle shob beriye jabe (Picking up Kali will reveal everything),” alleging that no building plan in the KMC was passed without his approval.

Adhikari further alleged that Banerjee had been appointed from “Camac Street” and accused him of handling cash transactions and transfers there.

The chief minister displayed documents in the House and claimed that the sanctioned building plan carried Hakim’s signature. He termed the plan a “faulty design” and asked whether the erstwhile Trinamool Congress government was unaware of “what happened in KMC”.

Adhikari also thanked the Indian Army and the Bihar Regiment for joining the effort. He said 215 Army personnel had participated in rescue work and alleged that the state lacked heavy-duty cutting tools needed to clear the beams at the site.

He said four teams of the National Disaster Response Force worked overnight and questioned why the state did not have specialised equipment or a dedicated response mechanism for such collapses.

Heavy rain on Thursday afternoon hampered rescue operations, which continued through the day amid uncertainty over the number of workers trapped under the debris. Senior police officers said there was no official record of how many labourers had been working at the site when the structure collapsed, and the operation would continue until rescuers were certain no one remained trapped.

According to people present at the site, around 50 to 60 workers were at work when the accident took place. Local residents said cries for help could be heard from beneath the rubble after the collapse. Rescue teams attempted to drill through the debris to reach those trapped, while oxygen and food were sent inside wherever possible.

The Army joined the rescue operation by mobilising four columns from the Eastern Command. In a statement, the Army said seven specialised teams, supported by medical personnel, ambulances and advanced engineering equipment including cutting machinery and high-intensity illumination systems, remained deployed at the site in close coordination with the NDRF, the State Disaster Response Force and Kolkata Police.

The Army also said it had set up a fully equipped 10-bed emergency medical facility at the site with medical and surgical specialists to provide immediate treatment to the injured.