The West Bengal government has launched a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe a fatal roof collapse at an under‑construction warehouse in Kolkata’s Taratala area that killed five people, officials said. Rescue teams from the Indian Army and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were at the scene on Thursday, June 25, 2026, as search operations continued and the city moved to contain fallout from the accident.
The three‑storey godown, owned by a tea company, stood on Transport Depot Road near Brace Bridge. Police records show the matter was registered as Taratala PS Case No. 74 dated June 24, 2026. An initial release named Assistant Commissioner of Police Joysurja Mukherjee as head of the SIT; a subsequent official notification said the team would be headed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Detective Department, Kolkata.
Local television channel ABP Ananda reported that workers had been installing iron beams and pouring concrete from above while progressively moving down the structure. The upper two floors had already been concreted, and concreting of the first‑floor roof was underway when the iron beams reportedly failed and the slab collapsed.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari blamed “faulty” structural design for the collapse and said the warehouse’s construction plan had received sanction from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation on January 17, 2026. “What I saw convinced me that the collapse did not take place on account of the rains or possible soft soil… It was because of a faulty structural design in which the iron beams weren’t able to take the load of concrete and crumbled to the ground,” he said.
Adhikari said he had ordered the KMC commissioner and the Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department to stop work on all under‑construction projects approved by the previous government, particularly commercial buildings and sites where permissions followed filling of water bodies. He directed an audit of such projects and ordered construction suspended until July 31, 2026.
Meanwhile, West Bengal police have arrested three people in connection with the case: building supervisor Saiyad Md Gulzar and labour suppliers Md Ataul and Subhash Chowdhury, the state chief minister’s office said. The SIT probe and ongoing rescue and forensic work aim to determine responsibility and whether lapses in design, materials or approvals led to the tragedy.
Original Source: https://www.firstpost.com/india/indian-army-ndrf-conduct-search-and-rescue-ops-after-5-die-in-kolkatas-warehouse-roof-collapse-14025932.html
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Publish Date: 2026-06-25 07:18:00
