Arrest ‘Wow! Momo’ Owners; Take Judicial Action against the Government Officials Responsible for this Brutal Massacre!
The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) expresses its deepest grief and boiling rage over the horrific fire that broke out at the Najirabad warehouse complex in Anandapur, Kolkata, on January 26, 2026. This is not a ‘natural disaster’ or a ‘mere accident’; it is a cold-blooded institutional murder of the workers, born out of a criminal nexus between greedy corporates and a complicit state administration run by the Trinamool Congress.
As of 29 January 2026, the death toll has tragically climbed to 21 charred bodies, with nearly 28 workers still missing, most of whom were migrant workers from districts like Purba Medinipur, forced to use the warehouse as a makeshift night shelter. The real death toll may be much higher, and there exists every possibility that the State Government will try to suppress the numbers.
The workers were locked in from the outside during their rest hours and could not come out of the warehouse after the fire broke out. This is a chilling hallmark of modern-day slavery and a direct consequence of the predatory practices of brands like ‘Wow! Momo’.
This tragedy exposes a systemic pattern wherein such brands build their empires by flagrantly violating all labour laws, showing total disregard for regulated working hours, overtime compensation, and the right to association. By stripping workers of their social security protections, including their fundamental rights to ESI and Provident Fund, they have left families without a safety net, all while forcing employees to operate in death traps devoid of fire extinguishers, emergency exits, or basic ventilation.
CITU raises a piercing question to the TMC-run state government — why, even after three days of this carnage, have the owners of the ‘Wow! Momo’ brand not been arrested? Why do the billionaire owners of this food giant remain free, shielded by their proximity to the corridors of power of the TMC government?
This tragedy is the direct result of the TMC government’s active complicity in allowing industrial giants to landfill and encroach upon the protected lowlands and wetlands of the East Kolkata Wetlands, bypassing every environmental norm. The State Labour Department’s criminal callousness is on full display; by intentionally failing to conduct mandatory industrial inspections and fire audits, they have turned the city into a graveyard for the working poor. The State Labour Department must be held strictly accountable for its role in this institutional murder of the workers.
CITU condemns the TMC government’s attempt to hide the true scale of the horror by cordoning off the area and imposing Section 163 (BNS). CITU demands the immediate arrest of the ‘Wow! Momo’ owners on charges of culpable homicide (Section 105 of BNS). Accountability must be fixed on the high-ranking officials of the State Labour Department and Fire Services, who must be suspended and prosecuted for criminal negligence.
Our non-negotiable demands include a minimum compensation of Rs 25 lakhs for the family of every deceased worker; a lifetime monthly pension for the dependent family members; guaranteed government employment to one member of each bereaved family; and the State Government must ensure free, high-quality education for the children of the victims until the completion of their studies.
We also demand a time-bound judicial inquiry by a sitting High Court judge and an immediate statewide safety audit of all industrial warehouses. The illegally built warehouses over the wetlands and those operating without any fire and safety protocols should be closed immediately.
CITU calls upon the working class of West Bengal to rise in protest against this corporate-servile TMC government that treats workers’ lives as disposable fodder for profit, and calls upon all its affiliates to immediately conduct protest and solidarity actions across the nation.
Issued by
Elamaram Kareem
General Secretary
