Kolkata saw chaos as residents reported panic and a lack of crowd control, culminating in a tragic stampede
KOLKATA: A suo motu case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder was filed and seven people, two of them office-bearers of Chorbagan Durga Puja committee, were arrested for Saturday night’s stampede amid heavy rain at the north Kolkata pandal that led to 19 deaths and injuries to 24.CM Suvendu Adhikari promised a judicial probe headed by a sitting judge, subject to the chief justice’s approval, or a retired judge, and pledged to make its findings public. He announced Rs 5 lakh for each injured person and said a magistrate-rank officer and a DSP-rank officer would accompany each victim’s body home.The crush occurred around 7.30pm on Saptami, after an announcement allegedly warning that the pandal’s structure might collapse sent visitors rushing for the exits.
Several people fell down stairs near the exit and were trampled. One of the 24 injured remains critical.Police arrested puja committee secretary Rajkumar Seoda, vice-president Shantanu Dubey, Biplab Mukhopadhyay, responsible for installing the bamboo structure, crowd managers Kaushik Saha and Pintu De, and private security agency employees Suman Chakraborty and Rajesh Pal.A special investigation team is examining CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts to establish who made the announcement and why.
“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,” a senior Kolkata police officer said.Residents described panic and inadequate crowd control. "People panicked when organisers started announcing that the pandal might cave in. That caused the stampede," said Ramji Sau, a resident.
Beauty Naskar alleged there was hardly any police or volunteers controlling the crowd, with some young volunteers busy on their phones.Adhikari said temporary home guards managing ropes separating entry and exit routes abandoned their posts when rain began. He directed police across Bengal to inspect major pandals, restrict entry where necessary and enforce safety measures.A total of nine IPS officers with previous Kolkata police experience have been assigned puja duty in the city.
Police have been instructed to keep exits clear, improve lighting, maintain crowd movement and carry ropes, guardrails and loudspeakers.The tragedy brought Trinamool, CPM and Congress together at Girish Park police station, where they demanded accountability and questioned why senior organisers and officials responsible for lapses had not been arrested. The opposition threatened larger protests after the festival.West Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar and Trinamool MLA Kunal Ghosh called the arrests an "eyewash", while CPM demanded that those who had prioritised control of the puja committee over visitor safety be brought to justice.BJP Bengal president Samik Bhattacharya appealed against political recriminations, saying the priority should be supporting bereaved families and bringing those responsible to justice.
The Ritabrata Banerjee faction of Trinamool echoed the appeal, saying: "Puja isn't the time for politics."Adhikari defended his govt's response and accused previous administrations of withholding inquiry commission reports. Referring to past disasters, he asked: "Have you ever seen a chief minister spending the entire night at a hospital?" he added.Across Kolkata, puja committees scrambled to improve safety, increase lighting, deploy volunteers and fire tenders, clear exits and limit number of visitors inside pandals. Santosh Mitra Square adopted staggered entry and increased volunteers. Thakurpukur SB Park cut its permitted crowd from 200-250 to about 100 at a time.
On Sunday, queues continued at popular pandals, including Md Ali Park and College Square. Some said they reconsidered plans after family members urged them to avoid crowded venues.