On First Job, J’Khand Teen Only Staffer To Die In Hotel Fire
Times of India | 20 August 2026
Kolkata: The Free School Street fire snubbed the life out of Sandip Paswan, who was only 19. Moreover, it was his first job in the hotel. Paswan, the only hotel employee to have perished in the fire, was the sole breadwinner of his family back in Jharkhand.
Sandip had started working in the ill-fated hotel barely six months ago. Relatives said he had plans of visiting his widowed mother and younger siblings – a brother and a sister – during the Durga Puja. The victim’s uncle, Sitaram Paswan, said he had received a call around 3 am from Sunil Paswan, another nephew, who works in a nearby hotel, alerting him about the blaze.
“Sunil along with other colleagues tried to get into the hotel to search for Sandip but police did not allow them inside,” the uncle said.
Sitaram, who also works in another hotel, was not on duty at the time of the incident. He was sleeping at a rented place in Nagerbazar. Sandip used to live with around 15 others in that rented place. Many of those who stayed with him were either his relatives, or hailed from the same village. They worked in different budget hotels.
“Sandip was responsible for earning livelihood for his family after his father passed away about five years ago. He used to do odd jobs in the village. I then brought him to Kolkata about six months ago so that he could earn better. Unfortunately, we lost him in the fire,” the uncle added.
When Sitaram reached Free School Street, it was around 4 am but no information of Sandip could be retrieved till police told the relatives to reach Medical College Hospital Kolkata.
“I kept hoping that Sandip might be alive. When cops told us to go to Medical College, the hope got rekindled but only to realise the harsh truth a few moments later that he was no more. We were asked to identify my nephew’s body among the nine corpses,” recounted Sitaram, adding that Sandip’s body bore no burn marks. “It seems the smoke killed him,” he added.
“We all were supposed to visit our native place during Durga Puja. Sandip was excited and looking forward for his first break from work ,” rued the uncle.