Two More Senior Wow! Momo Employees Arrested in Kolkata Warehouse Fire Investigation
In a significant development in the ongoing investigation into the devastating warehouse fire in Kolkata's Anandapur area, police have arrested two more individuals. Both are senior employees of the popular food chain Wow! Momo, bringing the total number of arrests in this tragic incident to three.
Details of the Latest Arrests
The latest arrests occurred on Thursday night when police apprehended Manoranjan Sit, the warehouse manager, and Raja Chakraborty, the deputy manager, from the Narendrapur area. Both individuals were presented before the Baruipur sub-divisional court on Friday, where they were remanded to five days of police custody.
According to employment records, Sit has been associated with Wow! Momo for over a decade, while Chakraborty joined the company approximately three years ago. These arrests follow the earlier detention of Gangadhar Das, the lessee of the second warehouse and owner of a decorator firm, who was taken into custody on Tuesday night.
Defense Arguments in Court
During the court proceedings, defense lawyers presented several arguments in favor of their clients:
- The actual fire originated from a neighboring warehouse, not the Wow! Momo facility
- Three Wow! Momo employees lost their lives in the incident, making them victims rather than perpetrators
- The warehouse was equipped with 33 fire extinguishers, exceeding safety requirements
- All employees, including the deceased and the accused, had undergone regular fire drills
- The company had provided adequate compensation to affected parties
The defense submitted substantial documentation to support their claims, including:
- Fire safety certificates for all warehouse employees
- Fire training completion certificates for workers, including deceased employees Basudev Halder and Pankaj Halder
- Video evidence of conducted fire drills
- Photographs documenting fire extinguisher installations
- Images showing proper entry and exit points within the facility
Based on these submissions, the defense counsel prayed for bail, arguing that their clients were being unfairly targeted.
Prosecution's Counterarguments
The public prosecutor strongly opposed any bail application, emphasizing the need for police custody to continue the investigation. Key prosecution arguments included:
- Warehouse managers cannot escape responsibility for safety lapses
- Only forensic reports can definitively establish the fire's origin point
- Questioning the accused is essential to understand the sequence of events
- Investigators need to determine why such large quantities of combustible materials were stored at the facility
- The accused's roles during the fire emergency require thorough examination
The prosecutor characterized early assumptions about the fire's origin as mere guesswork and stressed that proper investigation must precede any conclusions.
Court Decision and Ongoing Investigation
After considering arguments from both sides, the court granted the prosecution's request for five days of police custody for the accused. This decision allows investigators to continue questioning the arrested individuals about their whereabouts and actions during the fateful night when the fire broke out.
Police are now focusing their investigation on several critical aspects:
- The exact sequence of events leading to the fire
- The roles played by warehouse management during the emergency
- Storage practices and safety protocols at the facility
- Compliance with fire safety regulations
- Potential negligence or oversight that may have contributed to the tragedy
The Anandapur warehouse fire has raised serious questions about industrial safety standards in Kolkata, particularly concerning food storage facilities. As the investigation progresses, authorities are expected to examine whether adequate safety measures were in place and properly implemented at the time of the incident.
This case continues to develop as forensic experts work to determine the exact cause of the fire, while legal proceedings against the arrested individuals move forward in the Kolkata judicial system.
