Fire service personnel said the blaze was now under control but the cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
The fire, which broke out on the ground floor, gutted much of the building as well as several cars in the parking lot outside, fire department sources said. Sources added the ground floor had housed several gas cylinders and a generator room. The bodies were recovered from the ground floor but it is not clear yet if they were LIC employees or customers. North 24 Parganas Superintendent of Police Supratim Sarkar said: “We are trying to find out if the identity of the deceased.”
The LIC operates out of the four-storey rented building located at Dak Bungalow Chowk, around 30 km from Kolkata. Sources said there were a lot of people in the building as the staff and customers were racing against time to complete all necessary paperwork before the end of the financial year on Monday.