Early-morning blaze kills seven cats & a dog in Kolkata's Naktala apartment

KOLKATA: Seven cats and one dog were charred to death trapped in a ground-floor apartment in Naktala, when a fire broke out around 3am on Sunday. Rescued from the streets, these animals were among the 12 cats and three dogs kept in cages in this flat and looked after by a woman who used to feed them every evening. Fire brigade officials rescued a cat and a dog with severe injuries. One dog and four cats somehow managed to escape from the cages.
According to locals, the incident took place in a five-storied apartment - Subham Apartment - located at 35 Naktala Road. Ajoy Saha, who stayed on the third floor, said, "I got a call around 3am from one of the residents of the building. He informed me about the blaze. I rushed downstairs and informed the fire brigade. All I could hear was incessant and unbearable howling by the cats and dogs. Both fire brigade officials and cops from Netaji Nagar PS reached on time." Fire brigade broke open the door and entered the apartment to find the charred remains of the animals and the two injured ones.
According to locals, this makeshift animal rescue centre was run by a woman called Elina Gupta. She, along with people who work with her, used to come to the apartment every evening and feed the animals. KMC later said that this centre did not have a licence. They said even on Saturday evening one person, whom they could not identify, had come to feed the animals. Locals claimed they usually saw them lighting incense sticks in the apartment to beat the smell and stench. They suspect this could have led to the fire. Both fire brigade officials and cops did not comment on this, saying they were investigating possible cause of the fire, including a short circuit.
Elina's sister Kamalika, who stays nearby, however, demanded a through investigation. "This can be a sabotage. There are many people who did not like the fact that my sister used to care for animals. Earlier, too, there has been an allegation of poisoning. My sister (Elina) is so shocked by the turn of events that she had fallen ill and had to be hospitalised," she said.
Police and fire brigade did not immediately want to comment on probe. An officer said the fire brigade could douse the flames in an hour and a half. "There are claims and counter claims. Statements will be recorded but we would also like to know from the fire brigade on the cause of fire. It also needs to be examined whether all permissions were in place to run an animal rescue centre," an officer said.