Kolkata Police reported on Friday that the team investigating the recent fire at a factory-cum-warehouse has apprehended the manager and deputy manager of ‘Wow Momo’. The arrests of Momoronjon Sit and Raja Chakraborty occurred late Thursday night. Sit serves as the factory-cum-warehouse manager, while Chakraborty holds the position of deputy manager at the establishment.
Both individuals are currently held at the local Narendrapur Police Station for questioning by the investigative authorities. They are scheduled to appear in a lower court later in the day, where the public prosecutor will request their police custody for further interrogation. An official from the South 24 Parganas district police, overseeing the factory-cum-warehouse’s jurisdiction, confirmed these developments.
Authorities are probing the whereabouts of Sit and Chakraborty at the time of the fire outbreak on January 25 midnight. Additionally, they are looking into any possible negligence on their part that may have contributed to the tragic fire incident. The total arrests in this case have now reached three with the detention of Chakraborty and Sit, following the earlier arrest of Gangadhar Das, the owner of the adjacent warehouse of Pushpanjali Decorators.
A preliminary report submitted by the state fire services department and forensic team on Thursday indicated that the fire did not originate from the Wow Momo factory but from the neighboring Pushpanjali Decorator’s warehouse. Despite this, Das has refuted the allegations, asserting that the fire initially spread from the Momo factory.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has criticized the state administration for alleged negligence in handling the situation. Later today, Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, plans to organize a protest rally in the Anandapur area. Initially denied permission by the police, Adhikari obtained clearance from the Calcutta High Court, albeit with certain conditions.
