‘Result of Didi’s corruption’: Amit Shah attacks TMC over WOW! Momo fire

The fire has taken at least 27 lives. PIC/PTI

The BJP on Saturday demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the recent fire at WOW! Momo company warehouse and manufacturing unit in West Bengal and raised questions about the police investigation. The devastating fire on January 26 claimed at least 27 lives and reduced to ashes a godown and a manufacturing unit of the momo company at Anandapur in South 24 Parganas district.

Addressing a massive BJP workers' meeting at Barrackpore in North 24 Parganas, Home Minister Amit Shah came down harshly on Mamata Banerjee. Shah alleged it was "not an accident but the result of the corruption of the her government". He questioned why the factory owners had not yet been arrested and wondered whether their "proximity" to the ruling party was the reason.

(From left) Amit Shah. PIC/PTI; Guru Prakash Paswan. PIC/BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY

"Has the administration completely ceased to exist in Bengal?" Shah asked, adding that the TMC would have reacted differently had the victims belonged to a "particular community". He challenged Banerjee to prove her seriousness about the menace by denying tickets to "tainted ministers" in the assembly polls.

Raising doubts on the police investigation, BJP national spokesperson Guru Prakash Paswan alleged that the state police have arrested a few people (manager Raja Chakraborty and deputy manager Manoranjan Sheet) merely as a formality while the "big sharks" are still out of the law's hands.

"It was a man-made disaster. No fire safety norms were followed. The mandatory NOC [no objection certificate] was not obtained. As many as 27 people have died so far. Police have just done a formality by arresting a few people," Paswan said at a press conference at the BJP headquarters.

Mamata Banerjee and Sagar Darayani. PIC/X@SAGAR_DARYANI

"Where are the big sharks? Where is the CEO of WOW! Momo? Why has no action been taken against him? When will the accountability be fixed?" he asked. The BJP spokesperson showed a picture of the company's CEO Sagar Daryani with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and claimed, "WOW! Momo CEO Sagar Darayani was with Mamata Banerjee when she visited Madrid. The BJP demands a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the Anandapur fire incident so that the truth comes out," Paswan added.

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