Priya Cinema fire: Fire possibly originated from control room, says Sovan Chatterjee

Kolkata: State Fire minister Sovan Chatterjee said on Monday that the fire that broke out in Priya Cinema Hall had probably originated from the control room located in the ground floor just beside the staircase leading to the main hall where shows are held.

"I was present there with the fire fighting team and as per prima facie evidence, the fire had started in one of the rooms 'that looked like a control room'. There were several wires dangling in the room. Our investigation is on while a forensic team has carried out a thorough inspection. We need to wait for the results in order to come to any definite conclusion," Chatterjee said.

The hall has been barred from running any further shows till the investigation is completed.

"We will take necessary action if we find any lapse in fire safety procedures," the minister reiterated. He added that inspection drives will be conducted in the old movie theatres in the city, to ensure that fire safety standards are adhered to.

A forensic team that visited the spot on Monday, however, differed in their primary opinion about the cause of fire and attributed it to a momo stall of a leading brand just beside the ticket counter at the hall. "We have collected samples from the spot and will carry out a detailed analysis to ascertain the cause of fire. However, as per primary evidences that we gathered, it seems that it originated from the mono stall," a forensic team member said.

A fire had broken out on Sunday night at the movie theatre near Deshapriya Park, while it was running its night show. Heavy smoke quickly covered all the floors of the building, forcing people to rush out of the theatre in panic. The owner of the theatre Arijit Dutta, who resides along with his family on the floors above the hall, had quickly escaped to the roof. His office is also located on the top floor above the hall.