New Delhi: Kolkata Police have arrested Wow! Momo manager Raja Chakraborty and deputy manager Manoranjan Sheet in connection with the warehouse fire that broke out in the early hours of Monday at Anandapur, off Ruby crossing, which claimed several lives as many remain missing. The blaze originated from a godown owned by Pushpanjali Decorators and soon spread to an adjoining warehouse operated by Wow! Momo.
The godown owner was also previously arrested from his East Midnapore residence, and sent to 8 days’ police custody.
“We have arrested Gangadhar Das, the owner of the godown. Around 10 percent of the space had been rented out to Wow! Momo. The fire originated in his godown and then spread to the Wow! Momo warehouses,” Palash Chandra Dhali, Superintendent of Police, Baruipur, told ThePrint.
Local media reported the death toll to be 21 Thursday, with 28 people still missing. It is said that only three workers were sleeping inside the Wow! Momo unit at the time of the fire, others were in the Pushpanjali Decorators godown. Most of these workers were from neighbouring districts and lived on the godown premises.
SP Dhali said the police are unable to confirm the death toll at this stage, as the remains recovered from the site have been sent for DNA analysis.
“So far, we have collected 16 exhibits from the godowns. Families of the workers have been reaching out to us, and we are collecting their DNA samples for matching. We are in constant contact with them and are keeping them informed,” Dhali said.
Four days after the massive fire, cranes and gas cutters are still being deployed at the site. A forensic team has visited the spot twice, and the process of recovering exhibits is still ongoing. “We will be able to provide a clearer picture once the investigation team submits its report. At present, we do not know the exact cause of the fire or the number of workers inside the godowns. Everything is an estimate for now,” Dhali added.
Given the magnitude, this could become one of Kolkata’s deadliest fire tragedies in recent memory—after the AMRI Hospital fire, which claimed 89 lives, and the Stephen Court fire, which killed 43 people over a decade ago.
On Tuesday afternoon, state urban development minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim visited the site in Nazirabad under Narendrapur police station and announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for each of the affected families.
In a statement, the quick service restaurant and packaged food company Wow! Momo confirmed that two of its employees and one contracted security guard lost their lives in the incident. According to the statement, the fire reportedly originated due to unauthorised cooking activities at the adjoining warehouse.
“This fire engulfed not only our men, but our spirit too,” the company said.
Expressing grief over the loss of lives, Wow! Momo said its officials met the families of all three deceased persons and assured them of long-term support beyond statutory and government benefits.
Additionally, the company has announced “a lump-sum compensation of Rs 10 lakh to each affected family, lifetime monthly salary support for the bereaved families and education for the child of the families”.
This is an updated version of the report.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)