Couple leaves Kolkata hotel briefly, returns to find kids killed in fire

KOLKATA: On Wednesday afternoon, businessman T Prabhu sat on a bench, staring blankly at the cold, white walls of the Kolkata Police Morgue. A mortuary box was in front of him, in which lay his 3-year-old son Rithan's body.

Tuesday would have been the Tamil Nadu-based family's last night in Kolkata after a vacation in the hills of Sikkim and Darjeeling. Their train was at 11.45pm. Instead, Prabhu lost his son, 10-year-old daughter Diya and father-in-law in the devastating fire at central Kolkata's Rituraj Hotel that claimed 14 lives.

Ahead of their train journey, Prabhu and his wife M Madhumita had stepped out of the hotel to get some food for the hungry children. By the time they returned, smoke had engulfed the third floor of the hotel where they were staying.

Prabhu used a ladder set by firemen to climb up, shattered window panes and tried to rescue his kids and father-in-law, trapped in Room 313. The smoke, however, was too much. The flashlight of his phone could not pierce the black cloud and the desperate father had to give up. He climbed down, gagging.

It was the herb trader's father-in-law, Muthukrishnan, who had insisted on a day tour of Kolkata. On Tuesday morning, the family visited the Kalighat temple to offer prayers. By evening, they had their bags packed and were set to leave when the couple went to buy some food. "It was the first time I left my children alone. I never step out without them... I still can't believe I lost them," said Madhumita through her tears as she stepped out of the NRS Hospital morgue, where her daughter Diya's body had been kept.

A few kilometres away, in the police morgue on Nilmadhab Sen Lane, Prabhu's phone went on vibrating while he ignored the calls. A cop sitting near him tried to draw his attention to the frequent missed calls. "Everything has ended. What do I say anyway?" replied the devastated father.