Kolkata: The owner of the fire-ravaged Free School Street hotel on Sunday told police that he had shelled out Rs 1 lakh-Rs 1.5 lakh to touts and local syndicates to get neccessary permission to run the hotel.Bireswar Mitra (46), the owner of Shikha Inn, had converted a two BHK residential flat into a nine-room hotel. He had also leased out the hotel to Abu Jafar. Mitra further claimed the fire licence was issued in his name, a statement that is still under verification.Cops produced Mitra at the local Bankshall Court on Wednesday. The court rejected the defense counsel’s plea that Mitra had no role in the day-to-day functioning of the hotel, and sent Mitra to 12 days in police custody. At Lalbazar, officers indicated they will need to question Mitra and Jafar — who is also in police custody — to ascertain if they had paid organised “local syndicates” to “arrange” the necessary permits and licences to run the lodge for three years at a time, even though the hotel lacked several safety parameters.The investigation has so far revealed that Jafar and Mitra turned the floor space into a reception and nine rooms, dividing the area with plywood partitions. They installed a false ceiling that allowed the fire to travel into the rooms, trapping the guests inside. No permission for these modifications were taken, cops claimed.Sources said raids at Mitra’s second establishment — Hotel Jaapon, located opposite Shikha Inn — have not led to recovery of any fire licence. “We have searched his home, too, and drawn a blank. Similar raids at his Digha and Mandarmani facilities have not yielded any fire licence. As far as raids outside Kolkata are concerned, we have written to inform the East Midnapore SP about our findings. The fire department unit there has been contacted, too,” an officer said.Sources said cops are awaiting a study of Mitra’s accounts, after which, a study of his call records will be carried out to ascertain the “contacts” he has in the city.Cops stated that Mitra was aware that he had broken the laws. Around 3 am on Wednesday, employees of Hotel Jaapon had noticed the flames in Shikha Inn. Hotel staffer Indradev Paswan said he immediately called Mitra, but the call went unanswered. Repeated attempts a short while later also failed, and eventually, Mitra’s phone was switched off.
