‘Charred beyond recognition’: Momo warehouse fire shocks Bengal, 27 feared dead

AGo off at deuce warehouses nigh a Momo manufactory in westward Bengal's Nazirabad has shocked the state and prompted a sharp attack from the BJP on the ruling Mamata Banerjee government.27 people are feared dead in the deadly fire that razed two warehouses, both owned by a decorator, one of which was rented out to the Momo chain, on January 26, with the police saying the human remains found at the sites are “charred beyond recognition”.“We have received 27 missing complaints from families claiming that their kins, who worked in the two warehouses, remain untraceable till Thursday evening. The number is unlikely to climb any further. Around 16 samples, which included bones, skulls and other human remains charred beyond recognition, are under forensic analysis to ascertain the number of victims and their identities,” said an IPS officer of Baruipur police district.Officials aware of the developments said that blood samples from the family members of the missing workers have already been collected for DNA-matching.BJP’s attack on Mamata, TMCSenior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Friday led a procession of hundreds of party supporters at Narendrapur near Kolkata, demanding the arrest of the owners of a city-based popular food chain following the death of several of their labourers in the devastating fire.Adhikari alleged that the ruling TMC was shielding those responsible for the tragedy and showing insensitivity, claiming that CM Mamata Banerjee had not visited the site even five days after the incident, while rescue and search operations were still underway."The fire minister arrived 32 hours after the incident, while the CM did not find it important to come. The manner in which this issue is being handled is inhuman and reflects complicity of the ruling party," he said.He alleged that the state was not taking action against the food chain owners because of their proximity to the top brass of the government and the TMC."Merely arresting the owner of a decorator firm and two junior officials of the food chain won't work. We want the immediate arrest of those at the helm of running the companies. We demand justice for their families who lost their loved ones," he said.Adhikari also said the announcement of ₹10 lakh compensation for the next of kin of the deceased was inadequate and demanded government jobs for one member of each affected family."We also demand that the list of all those missing in the incident be published and all those responsible for landfilling the waterbodies be identified and brought under a thorough, impartial probe," Adhikari said.He criticised the state government’s response to the incident, alleging illegal construction of warehouses in violation of adequate fire safety norms due to encroachment of waterbodies.PMO announces ₹2 lakh ex gratiaCalling the recent fire mishap in Anandapur, West Bengal, “very tragic and saddening,” the Prime Minister's Office on Friday announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased.“My condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that those injured recover at the earliest. An ex gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000,” the PMO quoted PM Narendra Modi as saying.Two more arrests in the caseMeanwhile, the West Bengal Police on Friday arrested two more persons in connection with the fire incident, days after the owner of a decorator company linked to the premises was taken into custody. This brings the total arrests in the case to four."Two senior officials of the Momo manufacturing unit have been arrested. They are the company's manager, Manoranjan Sheet, and deputy manager, Raja Chakraborty. Both were picked up by Narendrapur police," the officer added.The two are scheduled to be produced before the Baruipur sub-divisional court later in the day.