Forensic examinations have concluded on the bodies of seven Bangladeshi nationals who lost their lives in a fatal blaze at a residential hotel in central Kolkata’s New Market area, with local authorities formally handing over the remains to their grieving relatives.

The post-mortem procedures were completed on Friday at the mortuary of the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital. Following formal identification, hospital staff released the victims to family members waiting on site. Six of the deceased were placed in coffins and loaded into ambulances, while the seventh was transported in a hearse.

Tragically, four of the victims belonged to a single family from Kushtia: Debashish Dutta, his wife Afsana Sharmin, their three-year-old child Shornashish Dutta, and his father-in-law Md Akram Ali. The three remaining victims were identified as Ahmed Babu from Savar on the outskirts of Dhaka, and SM Alimuzzaman and Rebati Sarkar, both hailing from Satkhira district, with Sarkar originating from Kaliganj upazila.

Accompanied by family members, the convoy proceeded on Friday night to the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata. Consular staff worked through the evening to issue the necessary No Objection Certificates (NOCs) alongside statutory clearances from the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) to facilitate cross-border repatriation.

Six of the deceased will make the overland journey back to Bangladesh. The family of Rebati Sarkar, however, elected to perform his final rites locally, arranging for his cremation at Kolkata’s historic Nimtala Crematorium.

The remaining six victims will be repatriated across two land customs stations based on regional proximity. Five bodies—the four family members from Kushtia and Ahmed Babu—will be transported through the Petrapole-Benapole border crossing. The remains of SM Alimuzzaman will enter Bangladesh via the Ghojadanga-Bhomra land port, allowing his family to proceed directly to his ancestral home in Satkhira for burial.