Two killed in Siliguri fire

TT, Siliguri, April 25: Two persons were killed in a fire that destroyed five shops at Sevoke Road here early this morning.

The bodies, which were charred beyond recognition, were found in an eatery, which stood close to a tea stall, fast food joint, barber shop and an empty shanty.

The bodies have been sent to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital here for post-mortem.

Siliguri metropolitan police and fire brigade said the blaze, probably started from an short circuit, had broken out around 3am today.

"We pressed into service two fire engines and doused the fire in around three hours. We will find out how the blaze occurred and whether the eatery and other food stalls had fire licences from our department," said Sanat Mondal, the divisional fire officer of Siliguri fire station.

The police said the deceased duo might have been working at the eatery and used to stay inside the shanty at night,

"Five shanty shops were gutted in a fire at Sevoke Road this morning. The flames had spread from an eatery and two bodies were recovered from the spot. We have started an investigation," Pinaki Majumdar, the assistant commissioner (East) of Siliguri metropolitan police, said. "We are in search of the eatery's owner, who seems to have gone into hiding."

Kamal Agarwal, the member, mayor-in-council (trade licence) of Siliguri Municipal Corporation, said the civic body would shortly conduct a drive across town to check how many traders at shanties or street food stalls had trade licences.

"The mayor is out of Siliguri and once he returns, we will hold a meeting with members of different trade bodies to discuss the issue and will take some effective steps," Agarwal said.

In another incident, a house was gutted in a fire at Mondolghat, on the outskirts of Jalpaiguri, yesterday night.

Around 9pm, the fire broke out in the house of Jagadish Sarkar, a farmer. The blaze got intense after an LPG cylinder exploded because of the heat. Two fire engines reached the spot and doused the flames in a couple of hours. Sarkar said he had lost his belongings and valuables, including cash and gold worth around Rs 10 lakh, and important documents.

After the incident, local people held a demonstration, alleging that the fire engines had arrived late. Officials of Jalpaiguri fire station have denied the allegations. They have started an inquiry to ascertain the cause of the fire.

No casualty has been reported.