Bengal hotel fire: Two owners held, death toll rises to nine

A day after a fire broke out at a hotel in the temple town of Tarapith in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, the father and son who co-owned the hotel were arrested on Tuesday (August 18, 2026).

The death toll in the fire. It took place in the early hours of Monday (August 17, 2026), rose to nine on Tuesday with the death of another person. Five of the dead were from Meghalaya and four were from West Bengal’s Alipurduar.

The two people arrested on Tuesday were hotel owner Kalyan Pal and his son and co-owner Prabir Pal. When most guests were asleep, police alleged that their probe found a number of lapses in fire-safety arrangements at the establishment.

According to the initial assessment of the Fire and Emergency Services Department, the blaze was caused by an electrical short circuit on the ground floor of Hotel Bideshini, located near the Tarapith police station.

The fire erupted around 4:30 a.m. on the ground floor of the four-storey hotel. The hotel had two exits. However, due to the fire, the electric supply was disconnected, leaving numerous unable to locate the rear exit in the darkness.

Birbhum SP Vidit Raj Bhundesh said the fire might have been caused by a short circuit on the ground floor before spreading to other parts of the building. He said the front gate of the hotel was closed and only a rear gate was open, delaying the evacuation of guests. “We have secured the PO (point of occurrence) and requisitioned FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory). We have detained the son of the hotel owner and strict legal action will be taken,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Birbhum district administration has ordered inspections of hotels, guest houses, and homestays in Tarapith to check the presence of permanent fire-safety systems and assess the condition of electrical wiring and installations.

On Tuesday, district office-holders said that at least 15 hotels in the area were identified operating with several violations of building safety by-laws where fire safety arrangements were additionally not in place. The officials directed that those hotels be sealed immediately.

Tarapith draws devotees throughout the year, and there was heavy footfall in the temple town on Monday during the auspicious month of Shravan. The crowd is expected to swell further on the occasion of Kaushiki Amavasya on September 9.