Kolkata, Oct 18: Kolkata Police have arrested seven people, including office-bearers of the Chorbagan Durga Puja committee, in connection with a stampede at the pandal that killed at least 19 people.
Those arrested include the puja committee’s secretary and vice-president, along with two employees of a private security agency, a senior police official said.
“Rajkumar Seoda and Shantanu Dubey were the secretary and vice-president, respectively, of the Chorbagan Puja committee. Biplab Mukhopadhyay was responsible for installing the bamboo structure at the pandal, while Kaushik Saha and Pintu De were in charge of crowd management,” the officer said.
Police have registered a suo motu case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in connection with the incident.
“The process of identifying the bodies is underway,” the officer said, adding that post-mortem examinations would begin on Sunday.
Police had detained 14 people on Saturday night as part of the investigation.
“We have arrested seven people. They were among the 14 detained last night. More arrests may be made,” an IPS officer said.
The stampede reportedly occurred at the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata on Saturday evening, amid a surge in crowds and rainfall.
“We have gathered sufficient evidence pointing to gross mismanagement by the puja organisers. There was no clear plan to manage the large number of visitors, and everything was handled verbally. We have collected CCTV footage, recorded accounts from locals and eyewitnesses, and corroborated our findings. Security personnel were inadequate,” the police officer said.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited a hospital on Sunday morning where 14 people injured in the stampede were undergoing treatment, a senior official said.
Shah, accompanied by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, was expected to speak to doctors and review the treatment of the injured, a state government official said.
The state government has also formed a panel to review safety protocols at major Durga Puja pandals and recommend measures for immediate implementation wherever shortcomings are found.
The panel will be led by Principal Secretary of Disaster Management Rajesh Sinha, Director General of Fire Services Anuj Sharma and Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Javed Shamim, Chief Minister Adhikari said.
PTI