Kashmir houseboat fire: A return ticket that will never be used’
Spriha and Sparsha, aged four and two, were found playing in their Chattogram home, unaware that their father, Anindya Kaushal, had died in a houseboat fire during a trip to Kashmir on Saturday.
However, the elders at the Jamal Khan residence were in a state of despair upon receiving the news from Kashmir's Dal Lake.
Anindya's father, Swapan Kumar Nath, lost consciousness several times after learning about his son's death.
His mother, Priyanka Devi, got ill after hearing the news and was undergoing treatment in a private hospital
Three Bangladeshi tourists, Anindya, Emon Das Gupta, and Md Mainuddin, all from Chattogram, died when seven houseboats stationed in Dal Lake caught fire.
Police said a fire broke out in one houseboat in the early hours and quickly spread to other boats moored nearby.
The three travelled together and died inside one of the houseboats which caught fire.
Anindya was an executive engineer of Rangamati Public Works Department, while Emon Das was a sub-divisional engineer, and Mainuddin a contractor for the same department.
Anindya's brother-in-law Ashish Kumar Nath told The Daily Star, "Anindya went to India on November 3. His return ticket was booked for November 16. But now he will never return to us."
"Anindya spoke to the family members last Friday. Then he talked to the children on a video call. Little did they know, it would be the last time they would talk to their father," Ashish said.
"Anindya had high hopes for his daughters' future. Now they will grow up without him," he said.
When asked about Emon, who lived with his family in the Panchlaish area of the city, his colleagues were filled with grief.
Public Works Department Executive Engineer Rahul Guha said, "Emon was a cheerful guy. It is hard to believe that Emon is no longer with us."
"He has a five-year-old son. I can't imagine what the family must be going through now," he added.
Mainuddin has a son and a daughter. The daughter is in ninth grade, and son in third grade.
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