Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata

Kolkata, Feb 21: DNA mapping has confirmed the identities of 18 more victims of the devastating Anandapur warehouse fire on Kolkata’s southern outskirts. The bodies were handed over to their families on Saturday, bringing the official death toll in the tragedy to 45, while nine people remain missing.

Police said the identification process involved matching DNA samples from the remains with those provided by relatives. Of the 18 confirmed, 16 were from East Midnapore district, one from West Midnapore district, and one from Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district.

The handover took place at the Katapukur morgue, south Kolkata. Families were first required to report to the Narendrapur police station before being escorted to the morgue to complete formalities. The respective district administrations have also been notified, with officials assuring affected families of necessary assistance and support.

The victims identified include: Kartik Jana, Nantu Khada, Subrata Khada, Prosenjit Ghara, Sandip Kumar Maiti, Krishnandu Dhara, Gurupada Sau, Basudeb Haldar, Basudeb Bera, Buddhadev Jana, Biswajit Sau, Khudiram Dinda, Shashank Jana, Bimal Maiti, Jaydev Majhi, Ramakrishna Mandal, Sujit Singh, and Tapankumar Dolui.

The fire, which erupted on the night of January 26, started at a warehouse operated by Pushpanjali Decorators and quickly spread to an adjacent facility linked to Wow Momo. Initial reports confirmed 27 fatalities, with several others unaccounted for. Due to severe charring, DNA testing was essential to establish identities.

Authorities said DNA results for nine more victims are pending, after which death certificates will be issued through the relevant panchayat offices.

In connection with the incident, Gangadhar Das, owner of the decorators’ warehouse, and managers Raja Chakraborty and Manoranjan Sit of the Wow Momo-linked facility, have been arrested and are currently held at Baruipur correctional facility as investigations continue.