Kolkata: Long before rescuers recovered his body from beneath tonnes of twisted steel and concrete at Taratala, Asgar Hussain had emerged as one of the central figures in the warehouse collapse in Taratala.To some, he was a contractor. To others, he was a local political worker, close to former mayor and Kolkata Port MLA Firhad Hakim, club organiser and a fixer who knew how to get things done. In the narrow lanes of Katapukur, Garden Reach and Taratala, however, he was “Asgar Bhai”, a familiar face whose influence extended far beyond the construction sites he supervised.For police, Asgar was a history-sheeter who was named in three cases of kidnapping, extortion and assault. “He was among the five persons named in the FIR but he unfortunately died in the collapse,” said Kunal Agarwal, additional commissioner of police (crime).Asgar’s death in the collapse of the under-construction warehouse on Wednesday brought renewed scrutiny on both the project and the man who, according to residents and investigators, played a pivotal role in its execution. Residents said he worked with businessman Shambhunath Behera for years. He initially handled parking lot management in Babubazar and Hyde Road before becoming involved in land development and construction-related work.Asgar was the proprietor of Ayaan Traders, the firm entrusted with construction at the warehouse site. The company was engaged by Behera’s organisation to execute the project, placing Asgar at the centre of operations. According to local sources, he oversaw constructions, coordinated with workers and supervised implementation decisions at the site. “He effectively ran the project,” said a resident. “Shambhu visited occasionally but Asgar mostly supervised the work.”Beyond construction, Asgar occupied a visible place in local politics. A Trinamool worker and organiser, he ran Netaji Sangha, a local club involved in social and political activities in Garden Reach and Taratala.Photos of Asgar, alongside a senior Trinamool functionary and at various political and community events, have attracted attention amid a growing political battle over the responsibility of the warehouse project. Allegations have surfaced regarding approvals granted for the structure during Hakim’s tenure as mayor. While CM Suvendu Adhikari questioned the approval process, Hakim rejected suggestions of personal responsibility, arguing mayors neither examined nor technically approved individual building plans.Yet in death, it is not only Asgar’s past but also his proximity to every critical aspect of the project that has made him impossible to ignore. When the warehouse collapsed, the man overseeing its construction was inside it. For nearly a day, rescue teams searched through the wreckage for survivors, among them Asgar . By the time his body was recovered and sent to SSKM, he had turned more than just a victim of the disaster.
