Kolkata, 2 nd February, 2026 – Kolkata police slapped handcuffs on Wow! Momo’s manager and his deputy manager Friday, after a predawn fire had gutted two warehouses in Anandapar, killing 27 people in a blaze of negligence and smothered screams, threw themselves upon the owner of the decorator firm already in custody. Families scream to get justice when DNA tests identify charred bodies, revealing nightmares of fire safety in the backyard of Mamata Banerjee.
The hellfire broke out at 3 AM on January 26 at the godown of Pushpanjali Decorators and shot up to Wow! The storage of flammable packaging, beverages, and Momo that are supplied to Momo is located next to the 12,000 sq ft warehouse belonging to Momo. Labourers, most of them asleep indoors, had nothing whatsoever to do with escape since fires were raging, doors purportedly padlocked outside, and exits crammed with piles of them. The fire tenders fought for 36 hours and collapsed and experienced flare-ups; heavy smoke filled the area.
Criminals are exposed during arrests.
First nab: Gangadhar Das, owner/lessee of a decorator warehouse, on Tuesday, by negligence. Officers accuse him of a zero-fire NOC, cooking without authorisation igniting a fire, and poor electrics. Friday’s double whammy: Wow! Raja Chakraborty, (3 years veteran) Momo manager and his deputy, Manoranjan Sheet (10 years loyalist), were caught in Narendrapur, 5 days remand by the Baruipur court. “They were aware that workers slept in the workplace, and neglected safety drills, and roared SP South 24 Parganas.
Horrors are being rammed home by investigators: There are no fire alarms installed, there are no sprinklers, and the sole exit is jammed. Four decorator survivors describe closed doors–a death trap. Wow! Momo was not properly cleared in the facility, and the police are investigating whether the rent had been reduced and the safety upgrades. Forensic forces search rubble; NHRC insists on a report with missing persons (13+ families file FIRs).
Wow! Momo Crisis: 3 Emiratis killed, Payouts flow.
The chain laments about two employees and one security guard: “Fire by neighbour swallowed us-illegal cook accused. Rs 10 lakh lump sum per family, lifelong salary support, and the education of kids are supported. But anger runs high. BJP Suvendu Adhikari rushes to the location, charges TMC with corruption and killing. Mamata blocks probe, covers cronies, yells he. Families disown payments: “Blood money will not be my brother,” cries victim relatives in Bihar slums.
Toll: 22 at decorators (migrant workers), 5 at Momo. IDs 20; rest reduced to ashes by DNA profiling. PM Modi declares ex gratia of 2 lakh; Bengal ex gratia 5 lakh.
Food Chain Empire is facing a safety scandal.
Wow! Momo -300 plus stores, 500cr revenue-cum-boycott. ILT20 sponsor withdraws advertisements; Zomato competitors rejoice. There is an outcry from labour unions: 12-hour shifts, warehouse-like dorms, no ways out. Similar to the Bhopal Kolkata station stampede – systemic rot.
Cops reconstruct Short-circuit or stove burns decorators ornament stock, leaps through the common wall. Plastic mountains of Momo Godown make inferno feed. There were crates piled by doors–“premeditated trap?” probes DIG.
Political Firestorm & Voices of the Victims.
TMC accuses BJP of hate politics; Adhikari arrested in protest. Judicial investigation is required by Congress. UP-Bihar victim families meet in relief camps: They slept like dogs with 12k/month. Suffocation major murderer seen via autopsies.
Delhi-ncr momo lovers hiccup supply hiccups Kolkata hub gutted. Chains vow audits; raids in the country by FSSAI. West Bengal Fire Services ADG acknowledges that there are 1000+ godowns that are against the norms.
Road to Justice: What’s Next?
Lab report 2/5; magistrate investigation requested. Accused in custody spill- Mann: Sheet denies drills, Chakraborty accuses lessee Das. The company provides employment evidence; hearing on Wednesday.
This tragedy is a scream to reform, to compel the fire audits, to control the migrant worker hostels. When dust settles, 27 ghosts seek revenge. Kolkata is in flames, but can the Mamata regime sense the heat?
