Court extends cop custody of 6 Taratala accused till July 8
Times of India | 5 July 2026
Kolkata: All six accused - including former Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Kalicharan Banerjee – were remanded to police custody till July 8 in connection with the collapse of an under-construction warehouse at Taratala that claimed 16 lives and left 17 others injured last week.
The accused were produced before the Alipore court after being brought from police custody. During the hearing, Public Prosecutor Sourin Ghosal told the court that the investigation had made “significant progress” and argued that the custodial interrogation of the accused remained necessary.
Ghosal submitted that had the accused discharged their duties within the scope of their official responsibilities, the tragedy could have been prevented. He further informed the court that investigators had questioned multiple individuals and uncovered several alleged procedural violations in the construction process.
According to the prosecution, although the building plan had received approval, several mandatory post-approval procedures were not followed. “The structural design of the warehouse was also not submitted for scrutiny. Expert opinions are currently being sought as part of the investigation,” Ghosal told the court.
Investigators have seized several documents and digital evidence, while the financial transactions linked to the project are also under examination.
Ghosal alleged that Banerjee had abused his official position and argued that further custodial interrogation was essential to establish the larger conspiracy behind the illegal construction.
Lawyers representing the accused opposed the prosecution’s submissions and made detailed arguments seeking relief. After hearing both sides, the court extended the police custody of all six accused till July 8.
The six arrested include former KMC OSD Kalicharan Banerjee, land lessee Sambhunath Behera, supervisor Gulzar Hussain, iron structure fabricator Kamal Samanto, labour supplier Dibakar Bhandari and broker Abdul Hamid, who allegedly arranged the sanctioned building plan from the KMC.
The arrests were made by a seven-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by the Deputy Commissioner of Kolkata Police’s Detective Department. The accused have been booked on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder for their alleged roles in permitting and constructing the illegal warehouse.
Another accused named in the FIR, Asgar Hussain, the main contractor of Ayan Traders executing the project, was present at the site and died when the structure collapsed.