Kolkata:
Multiple videos have now emerged showing there were clear signs of danger at Kolkata's Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal, where a stampede killed 19 people on Saturday night.
"Open the exit gates, let people get out! Please, leave," an announcer says over and over in Bengali, as devotees already inside the pandal try to stay put to avoid the pouring rain outside.
For those trying to enter, the announcement adds, "Stop. Don't come near the pandal. It's collapsing!" In response, those trying to enter push the long queue forward, again to avoid the rain and to get in before the gates likely close.
This apparently creates extreme pressure from both ends, with people not exiting while those at the entry gate insist on getting inside the pandal.
A video by a social media influencer has her describing the scene: "There is no space! There's no crowd management." She also mentions a "VIP lane" in which "people are easily getting in".
The details can be read along with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's mention of an "announcement" among the likely causes of the sudden push and jostle.
Another 49-second clip shot on a phone by a man in the crowd shows dozens of people trapped inside a narrow, low-roofed, covered and barricaded passage, with women and children crying for help. People are packed shoulder to shoulder and chest to back, with no room to move, and some are seen clutching the wall to avoid falling. Another video shows a large crowd rushing into the pandal, some of them running with umbrellas in the rain.
Police Probe 'Announcement'
Witnesses also mentioned the sudden heavy rain, the lack of proper lighting, and the queue being "90 minutes long" at the historically famous puja in the North Kolkata locality, where lanes are narrow. The crowds had swelled because it was a Saturday as well as Saptami, the seventh day of the 10-day Hindu festival, considered particularly auspicious.
A senior police officer has said investigators were examining a video in which the announcer could be heard saying the pandal was about to collapse. "We are trying to identify who made the announcement and what prompted it," the officer told a news agency.
New video from Kolkata pandal emerges, raises concern over space constraint @RittickMondal reports https://t.co/vAhsnMiATE
— NDTV (@ndtv) October 18, 2026
"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 camera footage, recorded accounts from locals and eyewitnesses, and corroborated our findings. Security personnel were inadequate," the officer said.
He said the announcements guiding visitors on entry, exit and crowd movement were insufficient and left people confused amid the rush. Neither the gate nor the approach road outside the pandal was wide enough for the sudden influx of people, he added.
What Chief Minister Said
Chief Minister Adhikari, speaking after meeting the injured at Kolkata Medical College and Hospital, told reporters, "According to initial reports by the officials at the spot, the incident occurred owing to an announcement on the loudspeaker by the puja organisers."
"Initial input from the ACP [Assistant Commissioner of Police] who was present on the spot says that this thing was triggered after an announcement by a private security agency and the blowing of some whistles," he later said to ANI. Family members of two of the victims said private guards blowing whistles near the pandal had set off a rush among those waiting to enter, Adhikari said.
The chief minister announced Rs 25 lakh in compensation and government jobs for the families of those killed. He also announced that a fact-finding committee headed by a sitting high court judge would probe the incident.
The stampede broke out around 7:40 pm amid heavy rain. Thirteen women and two minors were among the 19 killed. Another 25 people were injured, three of whom were admitted to the intensive care unit, with one in critical condition.
Police have registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and arrested seven people, including the organisers. Those arrested include Chorbagan Durga Puja committee secretary Raj Kumar Sewda and vice-president Santanu Dubey. Also arrested are Biplab Mukherjee, who was engaged in building the bamboo structure; Koushik Saha and Pintu Dey, who were responsible for crowd control; and Suman Chakraborty and Rajesh Pal, who were in charge of private security.
Adhikari urged all puja organisers to ensure proper lighting and enough entry and exit gates at their venues. "Many pandals are dimly lit in the name of themes... Lives of people are more valuable than themes," he added.
The administration has asked several major organisers across the city to temporarily close their pandals. Crowd-pulling pujas such as Tala Pratyay, Alipore Sarbojanin, Chetla Agrani and Ballygunge Sarbojonin were among those asked to stop admitting visitors. Over 3,000 Durga Pujas are being held in Kolkata.