Taratala crash: KMC suspends ex-OSD of former mayor Firhad
Times of India | 1 July 2026
Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation on Tuesday suspended Kalicharan Banerjee, the former OSD of ex-mayor Firhad Hakim. Banerjee was working as a manager in the MP LAD dept when he was arrested by thr SIT probing the Taratala warehouse collapse that has claimed 16 lives.
Sources said the suspension was to have happened within 48 hours of his arrest on Thursday evening but the authorities were waiting for an intimation from the police. He is the first official to be suspended in the case. There is a scanner on at least two other civic officials.
Banerjee was taken to his Howrah home by cops on Sunday to look for documents related to building sanction plans. Banerjee is said to have had a major say in pushing through plans against alleged monetary benefits.
Sources said there are inconsistencies in his statements and what the officials probing the case have learnt. He may be brought face-to-face with engineers to verify certain statements.
The SIT on Tuesday also conducted a raid at the residence of arrested middleman Abdul Hamid. Soures said some documents were recovered from the house.
KMC has also submitted the official building plan of the ill-fated warehouse to Lalbazar. The SIT has forwarded it to JU experts for evaluation.
The probe team has sought land documents and sanction files associated with the structure from KMC and Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Trust. It also wants to know whether soil tests were done there.
Police had earlier also arrested warehouse owner Shambhunath Behera. They said both Behera and Banerjee were withholding information.
Sources said Banerjee refused to disclose identity of the person who provided instructions to clear the warehouse business plan.