Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], May 14 (ANI): West Bengal minister Agnimitra Paul on Thursday backed the demolition of the 'illegal' building, following a major fire incident in the Tiljala area that claimed two lives. Paul stated that the government will follow due process before taking action against illegal constructions.

The West Bengal minister said that no demolition would be carried out without verification and adequate opportunity being given to residents to present their papers.

'If there is illegal construction, we will send you the notice and ask for the document. We will not allow you if you do not have any documents. We will surely give a time limit. We are not in a hurry,' Paul told ANI.

BJP leader Rudranil Ghosh backed the action against the demolished structures, stating that the buildings were illegal and the action should have been taken by the previous TMC government.

'The constructions which were demolished were illegal. It should have been done by Mamata Banerjee. They supported the criminals instead of punishing them. A bulldozer is not a symbol but is used for quick results. People are distressed,' Ghosh told ANI.

The remarks come in the backdrop of demolition drives in Kolkata's Tiljala area following a fire incident that had triggered safety concerns over unauthorised structures.

Meanwhile, the residents in the Tiljala area have questioned the intent behind the demolition of the illegal structure. Shakeel Ahmad lamented that he was not able to retrieve his essential documents before the demolition.

'My daughter was married into a house in this building. Yes, there are documents of the house, but they are locked inside, and no one is letting us get them. Our only demand from the government is that the house is now complete, sir. What can we do now?' Ahmad told ANI.

Another resident, Nazia Firdous, appealed to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari for a 24-hour stay on the demolition. It urged the administration to allow the residents to present their legal documentation.

'This is a complete injustice. I appeal to the CM to give us a stay order of 24 hours. Give us a chance to prove ourselves. Take action if we are proven wrong. After the fire incident yesterday, it's obvious that no one would escape from the building with their important documents. We have all the papers, but they are inside the building. This is not an illegal building. If the building is demolished, how will we get the papers?' Firdous told reporters.

Earlier in the day, the Director General of West Bengal Fire & Emergency Services had suspended Station Officer and Officer-in-Charge of Pragati Maidan Fire Station Goutam Das, following a major fire incident in the Tiljala area that claimed two lives. (ANI)