A massive blaze engulfed the bustling Orphanage Market in Khidirpur, one of Kolkata’s oldest trading hubs. Home to over 1,300 shops, the market was a lifeline for hundreds of small traders, most of whom had built their businesses from scratch over decades. Within hours, the flames left nothing but charred remains — no section of the market was spared.
But as the smoke cleared, a darker, more sinister narrative began to emerge.
Eyewitnesses and local residents allege that the majority of shops nearly 80 per cent were owned and operated by Hindu businessmen, many of whom constituted the last significant commercial Hindu presence in this Muslim-majority area of Khidirpur. The sudden and complete destruction of this cluster has raised grave questions about who benefits from the disaster and whether the fire was truly accidental.
While the fire was initially suspected to be caused by an electrical short circuit, multiple traders and local BJP leaders are now pointing to what they describe as “deliberate, systemic destruction” with state complicity.
Perhaps the most damning evidence of alleged state negligence lies in the response—or lack thereof—by the fire department. According to traders, the fire broke out around 3:30 a.m., but fire engines didn’t arrive until nearly 5:30 a.m. a two-hour delay that proved catastrophic.
Even when they arrived, fire trucks were reportedly ill-equipped, with many running out of water within minutes. No reinforcements came in time, and no effort was made to protect unaffected portions of the market. Locals were left to form human chains and carry buckets of water, fighting an industrial-scale blaze with bare hands and desperation.
“This was not negligence. This was collusion,” said one shopkeeper, whose family has run a textile store at Orphanage Market for three generations. “Why were hydrants dry? Why was the Fire Department unresponsive? Who stood to gain from our ruin?”
Soon after the incident, BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya took to X, posting a blistering statement accusing the Trinamool Congress (TMC) regime of orchestrating the destruction for political and communal profit. “A sinister pattern is unfolding in Khidirpur… This is not just negligence — it’s collusion. An unholy nexus is at play to displace and erase,” Malviya declared.
A sinister pattern is unfolding in Khidirpur, a Kolkata suburb in West Bengal.
The Orphanage Market, home to over 1,300 shops, has been reduced to ashes. Shockingly, 80% of these shops were owned by Hindu traders — the last significant presence of Hindu merchants in a… pic.twitter.com/CfipSVYtmH
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) June 16, 2025
He claimed the land would be handed over to the Kalim Group, a powerful business entity allegedly close to TMC functionaries and real estate developers. Sources say the market area, which is in a strategic commercial zone, has been the subject of multiple redevelopment proposals — proposals which had been resisted for decades by the Hindu traders who refused to vacate.
“The Left tried and failed. But this time, under TMC’s watch, the plan seems to be succeeding,” Malviya alleged.
Adding fuel to the already raging firestorm was the visit by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to the ruins of the market. Arriving hours after the damage was complete, Banerjee reportedly blamed the traders for not implementing fire safety measures.
Survivors and traders who tried to speak out were allegedly silenced by TMC workers, accused of “politicising the tragedy.” Videos from the visit show visibly anguished shopkeepers being pushed aside as the Chief Minister passed through the smouldering ruins. “She didn’t offer us support. She offered us shame,” said an elderly trader. “Is this what Hindu businessmen get in today’s Bengal?”
Mamata Banerjee has not held any of her ministers accountable, despite widespread calls for explanations. Specifically:
Fire Minister Sujit Bose has not been questioned regarding the two-hour delay and lack of preparedness.
Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, under whose municipal jurisdiction the market falls, has not addressed the fire safety lapses, despite the market being a known fire hazard for years.
This culture of impunity, according to BJP leaders and civil society voices, has turned Kolkata into a tinderbox, where real estate greed, communal politics, and state inaction create an explosive mix. This is not the first time a Hindu-dominated commercial zone has been gutted by fire in West Bengal.
Earlier this year, the iconic Burrabazar area, another densely packed trade zone primarily run by Marwari and Gujarati Hindu traders, suffered a mysterious and devastating blaze. That fire, too, was marked by a slow response, no investigation of foul play, and later, a push for redevelopment.
Khidirpur now appears to be the next in line — fuelling suspicions that these fires are not accidental, but tactical instruments of displacement.
The larger concern emerging from this tragedy is whether West Bengal is witnessing a pattern of economic cleansing — the removal of non-Muslim economic actors from key urban commercial zones, facilitated by TMC-backed land lobbies.
“This is not just about fire safety. This is about the destruction of a people’s right to livelihood and identity,” said a senior BJP leader in Bengal. The state BJP has pledged legal intervention, financial rehabilitation, and on-ground agitation until those responsible are held accountable.
As of now, hundreds of traders are homeless, their shops gone, their stock incinerated. Many had no insurance. Some had invested life savings into upcoming Eid and wedding season inventories. With no compensation plan announced, and a state government that has shown callous disregard, these traders face economic ruin and emotional trauma.
Yet, despite the devastation, a defiant banner hangs on a scorched wall: “We will not leave. This market is our legacy.”
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