Twenty-five days after a deadly fire at a warehouse in Anandapur, police handed over the DNA-identified remains of 18 workers to their families. The blaze on January 25 trapped many sleeping workers, leading to 27 missing person complaints. Nine body parts remain unidentified.
On Saturday, authorities released the remains of 18 workers identified through DNA mapping from the Katapukur morgue, following the warehouse fire in Nazirabad, Narendrapur. The incident occurred on the night of January 25, starting at the Pushpanjali Decorators warehouse and spreading to the adjacent Wow Momo facility. Workers sleeping inside were trapped, resulting in bodies charred beyond recognition and requiring DNA tests after families filed missing person reports for 27 individuals at Narendrapur police station.
Of the identified victims, 16 hailed from Purba Medinipur, one from Paschim Medinipur, and one from Baruipur in South 24 Parganas. Families coordinated through local police stations after being informed by Baruipur police district; they completed paperwork at Narendrapur station before receiving the remains.
Named victims include Kartik Jana, Sandip Kumar Maiti, and Sujit Singh from Nandakumar; Nantu Khada and Subrata Khara from Sutahata; Krishnendu Dhara from Pingla; Basudeb Haldar from South 24 Parganas; Buddhadev Jana from Maina; Biswajit Sau from Pingla; Prosenjit Ghara, Basudeb Bera, Tapankumar Dolui, and Jaydev Majhi from Panskura; and Gurupada Sau, Khudiram Dinda, Shashank Jana, Ramakrishna Mandal, and Bimal Maiti from Tamluk.
A relative of Sujit Singh shared, “We got a call yesterday night that his remains have been identified. We are now waiting for the handover of whatever is left of him.” Khudiram Dinda, another relative, said, “Finally, there is some closure for us. Every day we have waited for this call.” Hare Krishna Majhi noted, “My uncle’s son, Jaydev Majhi’s, body has been identified through DNA mapping. But we are still waiting for my brother’s body to be identified."
Police expect DNA reports for the remaining nine unidentified body parts soon, after which panchayat offices will issue death certificates. Three individuals—Gangadhar Das, owner of Pushpanjali Decorators, and Wow Momo managers Raja Chakraborty and Manoranjan Sit—remain in custody at Baruipur correctional facility.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia for each deceased family and Rs 50,000 for the injured. The state government offered Rs 10 lakh per family and a civic police job for one member each. Pushpanjali Decorators provided Rs 5 lakh to each affected family, while Wow Momo compensated its three deceased employees.
