Kolkata, Jan 30 || As the death toll in the Anandapur warehouse fire on the southern outskirts of Kolkata reached 25 on Friday morning, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took suo motu cognisance of the matter and directed the District Magistrate concerned to submit an action taken report at the earliest.
The NHRC acted in the matter following a complaint alleging gross human rights violations at the Wow Momo factory at Anandapur.
In a communique sent from the NHRC to the District Magistrate of South 24 Parganas district, under whose jurisdiction Anandapur comes, the Commission has stated that the complaint attributed the mishap to criminal negligence by the management of said company as well as regulatory failures on the part of the state fire services and labour departments, urban planning authorities, and local administration.
In the communique, the NHRC has also highlighted gross violations of provisions under the Factories Act and Disaster Management Act. “The allegations made in the complaint prima facie seem to be violations of the human rights of the victims,” read the communique.