Four people, including the owner and a partner of a homestay in Sitong near Darjeeling, have been arrested after tourist Nikita Saha suffered burns in a barbecue fire. Police said the investigation is continuing, while the injured woman remains admitted to a private hospital in Siliguri.
The arrested people have been identified as homestay owner Nehal Azran, partner Pawankumar Agrawal, and employees Dipen Lama and Nasir Uddin. Nasir Uddin is from Chopra in North Dinajpur, while the other three are from Kurseong, according to the report.
Additional Superintendent of Police, Kurseong, Anindya Sundar Bhattacharya, confirmed the arrests and said the investigation was under way. The arrests followed a complaint by Nikita’s husband, Souvik Das, who alleged that the homestay authorities failed to arrange timely medical assistance after the fire.
Nikita was initially able to speak briefly but her condition had affected her ability to talk by Saturday, her husband said. Hospital sources said she had burn injuries over 60% of her body. Doctors were scheduled to hold a meeting on her treatment and possible transfer, but Souvik said she could not be moved until her condition improved.
According to Souvik’s account, an inadequately trained worker poured turpentine oil into the barbecue to increase the heat, causing the flames to flare up while Nikita was sitting in front of it. He said he was also injured and repeatedly asked the homestay authorities for a vehicle to take his wife to hospital. He alleged that a vehicle became available only after about 30 minutes and that he travelled alone with Nikita to Siliguri.
The homestay authorities have disputed these allegations. Owner Nehal said CCTV footage showed a third person with the couple who was not an employee of the property. He claimed the couple had been repeatedly warned to move away from the fire and said the homestay worker had left for 15 to 20 seconds to arrange their dinner when the incident occurred.
Nehal further claimed that the couple had asked the third person to increase the fire because they were feeling cold. He said the person poured kerosene into the barbecue. The report said CCTV footage showed a person tilting a drum and attempting to pour a substance into the fire, after which the flames suddenly intensified and Nikita was injured. The homestay authorities also claimed that she was wearing nylon clothing, which they said allowed the fire to spread quickly.
The case has brought the safety practices of tourist homestays into focus, including supervision of open-fire cooking, emergency transport arrangements and the responsibilities of operators when guests are injured. Police have not publicly established which version of events is correct. The investigation will determine the circumstances of the fire and the conduct of those involved.
