AMRI fire: Mamata Banerjee to help Tripura man looking for brother

A Tripura man desperately searching for his brother, missing since the AMRI Hospital fire three days ago, has been promised all help by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

"Didi (Banerjee) has assured me that she will provide all help in searching for my brother. She has asked me to go the Bhavani Bhavan (which houses the city police’s investigation headquarters),” Paritosh Das said after meeting Banerjee at an event in memory of the fire victims.

His brother Santosh Das, 26, was admitted to the Advanced Medicare & Research Institute (AMRI) after injuring his left leg in a scooter accident Dec 1. His leg was later operated on Dec 5 and was recuperating well, said Paritosh.

Paritosh said he had to sell his ancestral house to pay the hospital bills amounting Rs.105,000.

“Since Friday I have been looking for my brother but to no avail. So far I have searched more than 20 hospitals and some morgues but nobody seems to know about him,” Paritosh said before breaking down.

“I hope she (Banerjee) can help me in finding my brother,” said Paritosh about his brother, who was the sole bread earner of the family. 

In the worst fire tragedy in any hospital in India, 93 patients and staffers were killed when a blaze started in the basement of the annexe building early Friday and quickly spread, trapping hundreds of people.