Four members of the family of Debashish Dutta, Kushtia correspondent of Dainik Aajker Patrika, were killed in a devastating fire at a residential hotel in Kolkata early Wednesday, as the newspaper expressed deep grief over the loss. Local authorities have so far identified six of the nine victims, five of them Bangladeshis.
The dead included Debashish Dutta (39), his wife Afsana Sharmin (27), their three-year-old son Swarnashish Dutta, and Dutta’s father-in-law Md Akram Ali (64). Members of Dutta’s family confirmed their identities.
Another Bangladeshi victim was identified, named Ahmed Babu (40) from Begunbari Aminbazar area of Savar, Dhaka. Local authorities also confirmed the identity of Sandeep Paswan, a resident of Giridih district in Jharkhand, India. The identities of three other victims have not yet been confirmed.
Bodies recovered from the hotel were taken to Medical College and Hospital, according to the report.
The Aajker Patrika family said it was deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of Debashish Dutta and his family.
Gazi Mahbubur Rahman, former president of the Kushtia Press Club and editor of local daily Aajker Alo, said Dutta had been serving as executive editor of Aajker Alo. Rahman added that Dutta was also the Kushtia correspondent for Channel Nine and Dainik Aajker Patrika.
Debashish Dutta was the son of Dilip Dutta of the Aruapara Rajarhat area in Kushtia town. His father-in-law Md Akram Ali was from the Thanapara area of the town.
Family sources said Dutta travelled to India with his family on August 3 for treatment for his ailing wife, Afsana Sharmin. The family first received treatment in Bengaluru and returned to Kolkata on August 18 after 13 days of treatment. The four were killed in the hotel fire while preparing to return home.
Touhidi Hasan, a friend of Dutta and a journalist who was at the family home in Kushtia, said relatives were overwhelmed with grief after learning of the deaths. Hasan said some family members were too distraught to speak. Dutta is also survived by an eight-year-old daughter, and by his parents.
