Kolkata, Oct 19: In the aftermath of a stampede in a Kolkata Durga Puja pandal which killed 19 people and left 25 people injured, the administration has removed the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Girish Park Police Station, said a government official on Monday. Girish Park Police Station OC, Sumit Kumar Ghosh, was removed from the charge of the police station.
In his place, Kolkata Police Detective Department officer Hirak Dalapati has been given additional charge of the police station. He has been asked to take up the new responsibility immediately. According to an official order, “Hirak Dalapati, Inspector of Police (I-Cadre), Detective Department of Kolkata Police, will look after the work of the office of the Officer-In-Charge of Girish Park PS under Central Division, Kolkata Police, in addition to his own duties, with immediate effect in the interest of public service until further orders.”
In addition, Lalbazar (Kolkata Police headquarters) has sent 11 strict instructions to all police stations along with the urgent deployment of nine experienced IPS officers to handle the crowd during the city’s puja in the remaining days of the festival. On the night of Saptami that fell on Saturday, as many as 19 people lost their lives in the stampede in the Chorebagan Sarbojonin Durga Puja pandal and at least 25 people were injured.
Eyewitnesses and visitors erupted in anger against the police and administration after this tragic incident. Their clear complaint is that the police could not handle the crowd properly. Even after the accident, the police and the disaster management team were late in reaching and helping in the rescue operations.
Yesterday, the Bankshall Court remanded seven accused arrested in connection with the incident to 10 days of police custody, until October 28. After the disaster at the puja pandal, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari went to the state police traffic control room at Araksha Bhavan in Salt Lake on Sunday evening.
From there, he reached Lalbazar. He sat in the control room and surveyed the situation. Although there was anger against the police, Suvendu Adhikari said, “The police have performed their duty. The allegations of negligence will be investigated.” After the Chorebagan stampede incident, Lalbazar is not willing to take any more risks with the security of the city during the remaining days of the festival. At least nine IPS officers, who have long experience in handling crowds during the puja, have been brought back to the Kolkata Police.
IANS