Kolkata/IBNS-CMEDIA: A massive fire broke out in a cluster of shanties near Eco Park in Kolkata’s New Town area on Wednesday evening, media reports said. No casualties were reported in the incident.
The fire erupted at around 7:30 pm and spread rapidly to nearby houses, triggering panic among residents. Firefighters managed to bring the blaze under control after deploying around 20 fire tenders.
Authorities have launched an investigation to ascertain the cause of the fire.
The incident has sparked a political controversy, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) trading allegations against the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).
The BJP alleged that the fire was part of a conspiracy linked to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya, in a post on X, claimed the objective was to later assert that residents lost key documents such as Aadhaar cards, ration cards and voter IDs in the blaze, enabling fresh documents to be issued.
Calling it a “deliberate manipulation”, Malviya accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of “playing with fire”, remarks that have drawn sharp reactions from the ruling party.
