A fire broke out yet again in Kolkata today, just two days after a massive inferno killed 24 people in Park Street.
Fire Brigade officials said a short-circuit in one of the air-conditioning machines of a bank on Ganesh Chandra Avenue triggered the blaze.
One of the machines caught fire on the second floor of the building, located close to the UNI office.
Two fire brigade engines were pressed to douse the flame, fire brigade officials said, adding there was no report of any injury so far.
Authorities investigating the fire at Stephen Court that has taken 30 lives so far have found themselves lost in a haze around the property’s ownership.
More than 72 hours have passed since the flames were put out in the building, but the cops are clueless about whom to prosecute.
“The civic body has failed to provide us with documents to establish the names of the owners. As the building was managed by a company for several years, we are looking for its directors,” said a senior police officer, who did not wish to be named.
That company happens to be Stephen Court Ltd of 23A N.S. Road, Calcutta-1, which has as its directors Sanjay Bagaria, Sushil Kumar Sureka and Pradeep Kumar More, records with the ministry of company affairs show.
Documents with the civic body, however, hold Arathoon Stephen — mentioned as occupier and lessee of the premises — and 45 others responsible for the premises.
Stephen, an Armenian after whom the building is named, had incorporated Stephen Court Ltd on December 4, 1923, after buying the right to use the lease on the property at the intersection of Park Street and Middleton Row till 31.5.2018.
The officer said: “Unless we can speak to the existing directors of the company, we will not be able to pin the blame for the tragedy.”
The directors are absconding, he added. Officials of Stephen Court Ltd said they had little to do with the property any more as they had either assigned or apportioned the lease to around 83 entities.
A CMC official said their records showed the names of only those who had conducted mutation of their sub-leased or assigned properties.
“We still own four to five units (on Stephen Court) while the rights over the remaining units are held by others,” said a Stephen Court Ltd official on condition of anonymity.
There are two ways a leased property can be sold: it can be sub-leased or assigned. As the original lease was for 99 years, the sub-lease period can be up to 98 years, 11 months and 29 days. If assigned, the new right holder would be the direct lessee to the lessor, which in this case is the Official Trustee of West Bengal.
The original owner of the plot, P.C.E. Paul, had made the Official Trustee — a government body looking after properties — the executor of his estate in his will. After probate, or legal authentication, of the will, the Official Trustee became the original lessor of the premises.
In 1984, the year two floors were added to the structure, Stephen Court Ltd got the right from the Official Trustee to extend its lease by another 60 years. “It is clear that ownership of Stephen Court changed hands at least 35 years ago, but we don’t have the details,” said an officer investigating the case.
Ambiguous ownership and the maze of leases and sub-leases, leaving no one in particular in charge, may have resulted in poor maintenance of the building.
“Sanjay Bagaria used to take a maintenance fee from all the residents at least till 10 years ago but he had hardly ever looked after the building’s maintenance. Later, he handed over the maintenance to the residents’ association, which was a defunct body,” said Gouri Guha Neogi, a sub-lessee since 1989.
A Stephen Court official told The Telegraph that the maintenance of the building was under the management committees of the four blocks in the building.
Gitanjali Jolly, a resident for over 20 years, however, said: “There was no one to go to for maintenance. There was no association or committee…. If the lift was in need of repairs, we residents pooled in the money to get it fixed.”
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