KOLKATA: A temporary shop on the pavement between Bagri Market’s Block A and C could be the origin of the fire, a preliminary police report said on Monday. The shop — or dala — was close to an electric pole right in front of an electrical feeder box. Prima facie, police suspect the fire could have spread rapidly to the adjacent shop stacked up with perfume and deodorant bottles before it went out of control and gutted the entire market.The police findings, shared with the group of ministers (GoM) in Nabanna and chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is in Germany, also narrated how these illegal shops that have sprung up in every conceivable space in the 1.5lakh square feet sixstoried building. That sections of the staircases and even washrooms were rented out made it extremely difficult for firemen to reach out to the upper floors to stop the fire from spreading.The building’s faulty fire-fighting system, the dried-up overhead reservoirs, non-functional hydrants and fire extinguishers well past their expiry dates also got a mention in the police report. However, the origin of the fire remains a key to probe. The dala owner, still unidentified, could not be traced on Monday. Local traders claimed he sold plastic articles, mainly flowers, mugs and utensils.Mayor Sovan Chatterjee, also the state fire minister, blamed illegal dalas for the firemen’s inability to douse the flames even after 45 hours. “These dalas have left the entry points blocked. They sell for Rs 15-20 lakhs and the practice must be stopped immediately. They have choked the building corridor with inflammable goods,” the mayor was quoted as telling his cabinet colleagues in the GoM meeting.According to local traders, the dalaowners illegally try to weld a rod to the electric poles to set up temporary sheds. It is still not clear whether this dala owner was trying to do the same, sparking off the fire which later engulfed the entire six-storied building. Police refused to comment on the matter. “The state forensics team had been to the spot. However, the ongoing fire-fighting operations didn’t make the situation conducive for a thorough probe. There is too much heat inside,” a senior officer said.Asoke Tiwari, a Bagri Market security guard, said, “There were two security guards at the F Block entrance at night (when the fire broke out). This is the only entrance that is functional at night. What they narrated and what we saw from the rooftop (where the guards were sleeping) is that the fire started between Block A and C.” Another security guard Shivram Singh added, “We were alerted by the screams and shouts from downstairs. We looked down to see the blaze. Our first reaction was to step out of the building. The fire appeared to have spread from between Block A and C.”Police sources said no FIR had been drawn up. It will be lodged once the probe is completed, sources indicated. “There will be a thorough and complete probe,” a senior officer said. However, the fire brigade is also likely to lodge an FIR on non-compliance of fire safety safeguards in the building. This, police said, is criminal negligence.

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