Firefighter douses the fire which broke at two warehouses in Anandapur. File
| Photo Credit: Debasish Bhaduri
The death toll in the Anandapur warehouse fire has risen to 27, with the Baruipur police forming a Special Investigative Team (SIT) to probe possible lapses, negligence, and irregularities linked to the incident, which gutted two godowns on January 26.
“The number of missing reports was 27, and body parts of 27 individuals have been recovered from the site. The SIT will supervise the investigation before filing a chargesheet,” a senior officer from the Baruipur district police told The Hindu on Monday.
The SIT will also investigate to identify those responsible for the fire. It will be led by the Superintendent of Police, Baruipur, and will include other senior officers.
Wow! Momo manager Raja Chakraborty and deputy manager Manoranjan Sheet were arrested on Friday in connection with the fire at Anandapur’s Nazirabad locality in eastern Kolkata. The decorator who owned one of the godowns at the site, Gangadhar Das, was arrested earlier on January 28 and remains in police custody.
Police said three Wow! Momo workers were among those killed, while the remaining victims were workers associated with the decorator’s establishment. Most bodies were found charred beyond recognition, with several recovered in parts. Authorities said DNA tests would be conducted to establish the identities of the deceased as families of the victims wait for answers.
The incident has triggered a political slugfest between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. “The fire that happened in Anandapur was not an accident but rather a man-made disaster caused by the corruption in the Mamata Banerjee government,” Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Saturday, while addressing a party workers rally in North 24 Parganas ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections this year.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee criticised the BJP for what he termed “divisive politics”, urging parties to refrain from politicising the incident. “Everyone should rather join hands to help ensure that such incidents do not happen in the future,” Mr. Banerjee said.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has faced massive criticism from across party lines for her silence on the tragic incident which claimed 27 lives. She has so far announced ₹10 lakh compensation for the families of the deceased, but has neither visited the site nor made any further statements. Meanwhile, senior leaders from several political parties have visited the affected area.
Published – February 02, 2026 08:07 pm IST
