Suvendu Adhikari blames Firhad Hakim, ‘TMC-era sins’ for Taratala warehouse collapse

With the death toll in the Taratala warehouse collapse rising to eleven, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday targeted the previous Trinamool Congress government over allegedly approving faulty and unsafe construction plans, while assuring that “nobody will be spared”.

Waving a piece of paper while addressing the Assembly, the Chief Minister alleged the building plan for the under-construction warehouse was approved despite a faulty design, and that the paper allegedly bore the signatures of former Kolkata mayor and TMC MLA Firhad Hakim.

“A faulty building plan was approved by the KMC (Kolkata Municipal Corporation). Nobody will be spared. These are all sins during your [the TMC’s] regime,” Adhikari told the House, while claiming, “Trinamool made Kolkata a City of Death”.

The remarks are significant against the backdrop of the rebellion within the TMC in the aftermath of its defeat in the Assembly polls last month. Interestingly, Hakim is part of the TMC rebel faction, led by Ritabrata Banerjee, which has challenged Mamata Banerjee’s leadership.

There has also been disquiet within the BJP over a potential “Trinamoolisation” after the party came to power in Bengal, as veterans have advised against the BJP absorbing TMC rebels indiscriminately. Adhikari’s statements targeting Hakim and his warning that “no one will be spared” could play out against this backdrop.

Ex gratia for kin, all construction activity stopped

The CM said that rescue operations were still on, adding that five people were arrested in connection with the incident. The state government has also announced an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of each deceased, and Rs 1 lakh each for the injured. Separately, the Prime Minister’s Office has announced an assistance of Rs 2 lakh for the families of each of the deceased.

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Meanwhile, Adhikari also announced that all construction activities in Kolkata and its surrounding areas would be stalled until cleared by a state-appointed audit committee. The audit committee, the Chief Minister said, will be headed by Additional Chief Secretary Rajesh Pandey (IAS) and comprise top police and administrative officers, including Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand and KMC Commissioner Smita Pandey, and a representative from IIT Kharagpur.

Police arrest Shambhunath Behera, Kalicharan Banerjee

The Kolkata police said Thursday they have arrested six people, including a structural engineer and a site supervisor, in connection with the Taratala warehouse collapse. Kalicharan Banerjee, the OSD to former Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim has also been arrested. The other arrested include Gulzar Hussain, supervisor of Ayan Traders; Kamal Samanto, an iron structure fabricator; Shambhunath Behera, the owner of Behra Brothers — the firm that leased the Kolkata Port land to construct the warehouse; Dibakar Bhandari, a labour supplier and Trimex contractor; and Abdul Hamid, who allegedly acted as a broker for obtaining sanction plans from the KMC, a senior Kolkata police officer told The Indian Express.

The Kolkata Police SIT team has already requested certain documents from the KMC, and it would also scrutinise the role of municipal officials.

As per a KMC document, a copy of which has been obtained by The Indian Express, Shambhunath Behera and his brother had applied for the sanction of the building plan in September 2025. The project was sanctioned in January 2026, as per the documents.

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“The arrested supervisor, Gulzar, and the deceased contractor, Asgar, had multiple prior criminal cases against them. Gulzar’s name was linked to a brawling incident in Ekbalpur. On the other hand, there were two cases against Asgar — one case from 2013, and another kidnapping case,” said Kunal Agarwal, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), during a press conference at Lal Bazar.

The police had registered a suo motu FIR in the incident, naming five accused. Among them, the body of the main contractor, Asgar Hussain, was recovered from the debris on Thursday morning.

Locals had earlier claimed that as many as 50 labourers could have been present inside the warehouse.

The case has now been transferred to the Detective Department, and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe alleged construction flaws.

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The SIT will be headed by the deputy commissioner of police (Detective Department) and includes Joysurja Mukherjee, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Inspector Debasis Dutta, Officer-in-Charge of the Homicide Squad, Inspector Hirak Dalapati, who has been appointed the new investigating officer in the case, Inspector Sarfaraz Ahmed of the Anti-Rowdy Squad, and Sub-Inspectors Manas Bhattacharya and Kushal Mondal of Taratala Police Station.

The police said they are probing allegations of construction lapses at the site, including claims that tin sheets were used beneath the concrete roofing structure.

No register kept at site

Authorities are yet to ascertain the exact number of workers at the site when the structure collapsed.

No register was maintained at the site making it difficult for the police to find out how many could still be trapped beneath the debris.

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“No registers were maintained at the warehouse. Hence, there is still no accurate estimate of how many people are trapped under the debris. The rescue operations are ongoing because it is inhumane to leave it. There is no clarity on how many were working at the time of the incident. We can’t be sure till the debris is cleared up,” said ACP Agarwal.