Koilaghat fire: SIT to question ER officials

KOLKATA: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) may question a few Eastern Railway (ER) officials in connection with the tragic fire incident at the New Koilaghat building on Strand Road which claimed nine lives.

According to sources, the cops are trying to find out who was responsible for running the lift even after the fire had broken out.

This apart, why the electricity connection was still functional despite the thumb rule for such incidents is to disconnect the electricity line first. A list of a few ER officials has already been made who may be questioned soon.

This apart it is alleged that the electrical wiring of the building was very old and the wires were entangled.

Investigating officials suspect that the hydrants and sprinklers along with smoke alarm systems were installed to obtain a no-objection certificate and fire licence.

But later nobody bothered to review it for necessary upgradation and ascertain flaws.

Meanwhile, the online Passenger Reservation System (PRS) and Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) which were hampered due to the non-availability of power owing to the fire incident has now been fully restored.

The system was partially restored using an alternate server on Tuesday. From Thursday all the services of PRS and UTS are functioning normally.

The PRS located in the New Koilaghat building has also started functioning. For now, only those employees deployed at the PRS department are allowed to enter the building.