Kolkata fire: Adhikari leads rally, demands arrest of food chain owners

Adhikari alleged that the ruling Trinamool Congress TMC was shielding those responsible for the tragedy and showing insensitivity, claiming that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had not visited the site even five days after the incident, while rescue and search operations were still underway.

Senior 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 a devastating fire. Supporting Adhikari, party colleague Amit Malvya described the blaze as 'man-made', caused by illegal warehouses operating without fire safety norms. The fire broke out in the early hours of January 26 at the warehouses of a momo manufacturing unit and a decorator at Nazirabad within Narendrapur police station limits. Adhikari alleged that the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) was shielding those responsible for the tragedy and showing insensitivity, claiming that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had not visited the site even five days after the incident, while rescue and search operations were still underway. Displaying a purported photograph of one of the owners of the food chain, Adhikari claimed the picture was taken and shared by the owner on social media when he was part of the CM's business delegation abroad in the past. Adhikari 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. PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the photograph displayed by Adhikari at the rally. ''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 demanded the resignation of Fire Services Minister Sujit Bose and the publication of the list of those missing after the fire. ''We will move the high court on Monday demanding the names and details of all those missing,'' he said. Adhikari also said the announcement of Rs 10 lakh compensation for the next of kin of the deceased was inadequate and demanded government jobs for one member of each affected family and Rs 50 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased. ''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 at the rally at Kamalgazi More. He criticised the state government's response to the incident, alleging illegal construction of warehouses without adequate fire safety norms due to encroachment of waterbodies in the area. ''We also demand that all those responsible for landfilling the waterbodies be identified and brought under a thorough, impartial probe,'' Adhikari said. ''The party has submitted a charter of demands, including the arrest of the two owners of the food chain, publication of the list of missing people with details and a white paper on the number of illegal constructions filling up wetlands in Nazirabad in the past 14 years,'' Adhikari said. Echoing Adhikari, senior BJP leader and IT cell head Amit Malviya posted on X, ''This was not an accident. It was a man-made disaster, caused by illegal warehouses operating without fire safety norms, mandatory NOCs or audits in the East Kolkata Wetlands. ''This could only happen due to the systemic apathy, corruption and regulatory collapse under the TMC government. Shockingly, even days after the tragedy, Mamata Banerjee has not visited the site,'' Malviya said. ''The arrest of a godown manager and a deputy manager only reinforces the pattern of targeting lower-level functionaries while shielding the real culprits, the powerful 'big sharks' who enabled, protected and profited from these illegal operations. Justice cannot be selective. Accountability must travel upward, not stop at convenient scapegoats. The people of West Bengal deserve answers, responsibility, and action, not token arrests,'' Malviya said. TMC state vice president Joy Prakash Majumdar said the BJP should first explain why Prime Minister Narendra Modi failed to visit when Manipur was burning two years ago. Modi visited the violence-hit state in September last year, where over 260 people have been killed since ethnic clashes broke out in the state in May 2023. ''In sharp contrast, our CM Mamata Banerjee is always on the side of the distressed. She does not want to hamper rescue work and rush to the site. Also, the bereaved families are scattered in the districts, and the state administration and party are with them. The BJP is doing politics with the victims of a tragedy, which was an accident,'' he said. Bose told reporters one should be careful about following certain established and standard guidelines while doing business. ''If you want to do business, you have to be responsible and cannot play with safety rules,'' he remarked. The rally, which began from Sahid Khudiram Metro station, passed through EM Bypass, Garia Dhalai Bridge, Kamal Gazi More before ending around 200 metres from Narendrapur police station, as directed by the Calcutta High Court on Thursday. So far, 21 body parts, including partially burnt and skeletal remains, have been recovered from the site, officials said. ''We cannot confirm the exact death toll as we have recovered body parts, which may belong to a single or different individuals. This can be confirmed only after the DNA tests,'' a police officer said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)