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2 more held; PMO announces ₹2L each for kin of deceased
Two Wow! Momo officials were arrested after a fire in Kolkata warehouses killed at least 27. The incident has sparked political controversy and demands for accountability.
Kolkata: The police on Friday arrested two officials of Wow! Momo, a Kolkata-based chain of fast-food restaurants, in connection with the deadly fire that gutted two warehouses on the outskirts of the city earlier this week.
At least 27 people are feared dead in the blaze, with the police recovering at least 21 body parts which were sent for forensic analysis to ascertain the number of bodies and identify the identities of the victims. The fire has snowballed into a major political issue ahead of state elections due this summer.
On Friday, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) announced a compensation of ₹2 lakh each for the next of kin of each deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured people from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.
“The recent fire mishap in Anandapur, West Bengal is very tragic and saddening. My condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that those injured recover at the earliest,” the PMO wrote on X.
The state government had earlier announced a compensation of ₹10 lakh for the next of kin of each of the deceased persons.
The police had earlier arrested Gangadhar Das, owner of the decorator’s firm who also owned the two warehouses. On Friday the manager and deputy manager of the warehouse, which the food chain had taken on rent from Das, were arrested.
Das had been remanded in police custody until February 4.
An official from the fast food chain said, “We have submitted all required documents to the police and are cooperating with the police in its investigation.”
Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, led a rally in Kolkata. demanding the arrest of the owners of Wow! Momo and the resignation of the state fire department minister Sujit Bose.
“The state fire minister should resign. The owner of the momo-company had accompanied the chief minister on a foreign trip. He should be arrested. The arrest of two officials of the company is just an eyewash. We also demand that the next of kin of the deceased persons should be given ₹50 lakh compensation and a permanent job,” he said.
Fire department minister Sujit Bose said, “Fire-related accidents can happen anywhere anytime. Recently many people were killed in Goa. We have seen fire accidents in Gujarat and Delhi. Those who are doing business also need to have some awareness and responsibility. The government is doing its bit. Fire audit is being continuously done.”
Earlier during the day, West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose visited the site and said the devastating fire pointed to a failure on the part of the authorities. “I am here on a fact-finding exercise, not on a fault-finding exercise,” the governor said.
Police said the fire broke out around 3 am on Monday in one warehouse and soon spread to the adjacent one. Inflammable items were stored in both warehouses, firefighters said. It took around 10 hours for 12 fire tenders to bring the flames under control
