Bodies of five Bangladeshis killed in Kolkata fire reach Petrapole

Published : Saturday, 22 August, 2026 at 5:43 PM

Observer Online Report

The bodies of five Bangladeshis killed in a hotel fire in Kolkata reached Petrapole on Saturday afternoon for repatriation to Bangladesh.

The bodies arrived at the Petrapole border in three ambulances from the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata around 3:45 PM. They are expected to be handed over to the victims’ relatives at the zero line of the Benapole border after completing formalities between the two countries.

The five victims are journalist Debashish Dutta of Kushtia Sadar, his wife Afsana Sharmin, their three-year-old son Swarnashish Dutta, his father-in-law Akram Ali, and Zubair Babu of Savar.

Nine people died in a fire at the Shikha Inn on Mirza Ghalib Street in Kolkata’s New Market area early on August 19. Seven of the victims were Bangladeshis.

The bodies have undergone post-mortem examinations in India, and necessary legal and administrative procedures are being completed for their repatriation.

Relatives of the victims were seen waiting at Benapole to receive the bodies.

Benapole Checkpost Immigration Officer-in-Charge Ferdous Hossain said authorities were prepared to receive the bodies and complete the necessary formalities before handing them over to the relatives.

The body of another Bangladeshi victim, SM Alimuzzaman of Satkhira, will be brought through the Bhomra border, while the family of another victim, Reboti Sarkar, has decided to have the body cremated in India.

SKS

Also read

Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury

Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, E-mail: [email protected], ‍[email protected] Online: email: [email protected] 41053014; 01550707297 Advertisement: 01550707296

🔝