Owner Bireshwar Mitra owned another hotel directly opposite ‘Shikha Inn’. It was the staff of that hotel who first spotted roaring flames engulfing ‘Shikha Inn’. They called the owner around 3:00 AM; initially, he did not answer, and subsequently, he switched off his mobile phone. Bireshwar has been missing ever since.

It has been reported that Bireshwar Mitra from Behala owned two hotels on Mirza Ghalib Street in the New Market area: ‘Shikha Inn’ and ‘Japon’. Both occupied very small premises, with ‘Japon’ situated directly opposite ‘Shikha Inn’. Around 3 a.m. on Tuesday, staff members at the three-story ‘Japon’ hotel noticed a blazing fire at the hotel across the street. Hotel employee Indradev Paswan stated that he immediately called the owner, Bireshwar, but the call went unanswered.

Indradev Paswan stated that his employer's phone has been switched off ever since. Repeated attempts to contact him have been futile; he has gone missing, and the police are now searching for him. Indradev mentioned that non-AC rooms at their hotel cost between ₹500 and ₹600, while AC rooms are available for ₹800. Consequently, many people traveling from Bangladesh to Kolkata for medical treatment stay at this hotel—the reason being simply that it is affordable.And in the bid to save money, no one even stops to consider the risk to life. ‘Shikha Inn’ has once again starkly demonstrated the potential consequences of this.