Seven people were identified as dead after a fire broke out at two warehouses in Kolkata’s Anandapur, in the early hours of the January 26, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Debashish Bhaduri
A team of the National Human Rights Commission visited the site of the Anandapur warehouse on Tuesday (February 3, 2026), where a fire claimed at least 27 lives. Since the fire broke out on January 26, three people have been arrested and a special investigation team has been formed to probe the matter.
Following the devastating fire at Anandapur’s Nazirabad, a four-member team from the NHRC visited the site for inspection. The rights body had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of the incident on January 30 after receiving a complaint alleging gross human rights violations at the accident site.
On Tuesday, the NHRC team inspected the entire accident site along with local police officials from the Baruipur Narendrapur Police. They examined areas where bodies were recovered and reviewed the working conditions at the warehouse, which housed two godowns, one belonging to a decorator and another to a popular food chain, Wow! Momo.
The NHRC team will also examine the role of authorities in overseeing the working and living conditions of people at the warehouse. The team arrived on Monday (February 2, 2026) and met district administrators.
On Tuesday, members collected evidence and later went to the Narendrapur police station to review the steps taken by the police in investigating the accident.
Meanwhile, the SIT is probing alleged irregularities and lapses linked to the fire that claimed close to 30 lives. The team will also seek to identify those responsible for the incident.
Wow! Momo manager Raja Chakraborty and deputy manager Manoranjan Sheet were arrested last Friday in connection with the fire. The decorator who owned one of the godowns at the site, Gangadhar Das, was arrested earlier on January 28 and remains in police custody.
Officials said the bodies of the deceased were burnt beyond recognition. They added that DNA tests would be conducted on body parts to establish the identities of the victims, even as families wait for answers. Police confirmed that 27 missing persons reports were filed at the local police station and that all of them died in the fire.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her government were criticised by the opposition over alleged lapses in the rescue and recovery process and claims of illegal constructions at the warehouse site.
“27 labourers were burned alive in Kolkata @MamataOfficial decided to go to Delhi but did not once visit the site,” the Bharatiya Janata Party’s West Bengal unit said on its official social media page on Tuesday.
Senior Fire and Emergency Services officials of West Bengal had earlier stated that the godowns did not have a valid fire licence and were operating without the required permissions.
Published – February 03, 2026 08:03 pm IST
