Published : 19 Aug 2026, 11:03 PM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:34 AM
Four members of a family from Kushtia are among five Bangladeshis confirmed dead in a hotel fire near Kolkata’s New Market, according to the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission.
The mission confirmed the identities on Wednesday, citing Kolkata Police.
Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata Md Khaled said that three other victims were also feared to be Bangladeshi nationals and that officials were working with police to establish their identities.
The four members of the Kushtia family were Debashish Dutta, 39, his wife Afsana Sharmin, 27, their 3-year-old son Sharnashish Dutta, and Debashish’s father-in-law Akram Ali, 64.
The fifth confirmed Bangladeshi victim was 3-year-old Ahmed Babu, son of Adam Ali from Savar's Aminbazar.
Debashish was the Kushtia correspondent of the Bangla daily Ajker Patrika.
Touhidi Hasan, a family friend and a staff correspondent for Prothom Alo in Kushtia, said Debashish had travelled to Chennai on Aug 3 with his wife and young son for her treatment.
Two other people from Kushtia travelled with them, he added.
“They flew from Chennai to Kolkata on Monday night and checked into a hotel there. They spent the day sightseeing and were supposed to return home today,” Touhidi said.
“But then we learnt that the hotel had caught fire and all three of them had died.”
Touhidi was at Debashish’s family home in Kushtia when he spoke to bdnews24.com by phone around 3pm on Wednesday, where relatives and friends were mourning the deaths.
Bodies to Be Brought Home
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam said the Bangladesh mission in Kolkata had contacted the families of the victims and was working to repatriate the bodies as quickly as possible.
“Once the identification process and all formalities are completed, our mission in Kolkata is working to bring the bodies back to Bangladesh as quickly as possible,” she told reporters at the foreign ministry on Wednesday.
Asked about the cost of bringing the bodies home, Shama said the government would consider covering the expenses if the families were unable to do so.
The deputy high commissioner said bodies of Bangladeshis who die in Kolkata are usually brought home by road in refrigerated hearses after the necessary formalities are completed.
The mission would make the arrangements in this case as well, he said.
Indian media reported that the fire broke out around 2am on Wednesday at Hotel Shikha Inn on the third floor of a building on Mirza Ghalib Street near New Market.
The blaze later spread to neighbouring buildings.
Indian news agency ANI initially reported, citing the fire service, that all nine people killed were Bangladeshis who had travelled to Kolkata for medical treatment.
Several hours later, however, Indian media revised the information.
Broadcaster NDTV reported that one of the victims had been identified as a resident of India’s Jharkhand state, while Kolkata-based Anandabazar Patrika said “most” of those killed were Bangladeshis.
Bangladesh foreign ministry spokesman AKM Shahidul Karim earlier told bdnews24.com that authorities had received information suggesting eight of the nine victims were Bangladeshis.
“The deaths of five Bangladeshis have been confirmed. The other three are also feared to be Bangladeshi nationals,” he said.
The foreign ministry later said local police had confirmed the identities of five Bangladeshis among the nine dead.
Officials from the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission went to the scene after learning of the fire and began gathering information about those killed and injured.
Six Bangladeshi nationals injured in the fire were released after receiving first aid, according to the ministry.
The Deputy High Commission is maintaining round-the-clock contact with hospitals and local police and has opened a 24-hour helpline for Bangladeshis affected by the fire and their families.
