KOLKATA: The death toll in Saturday evening’s stampede at a community Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata has risen to 19, following reports of two more deaths. Several injured people remain in critical condition at Kolkata Medical College and Hospital.
Around 14 injured have been shifted from the medical college to Apollo Hospital.
In connection with the incident, Kolkata Police on Sunday arrested seven people over the stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durgotsab Samity pandal, which also left 25 others injured.
According to Kolkata Police, those arrested include Raj Kumar Sewda, alias Raja (48), the puja committee’s secretary; Santanu Dubey (55), its vice-president; and Biplab Mukherjee, alias Joy (48), who was involved in constructing a bamboo structure.
The other arrested persons have been identified as Koushik Saha (53), who was responsible for crowd management and checking VIP passes; Pintu Dey (51), who was involved in crowd management; and Suman Chakraborty (30) and Rajesh Pal (29), who were working as private security supervisors.
Kolkata Police has registered a suo motu case under Sections 105, 110 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the organisers and others.
Police said the case was registered on Saturday night and that 14 people had been detained for questioning.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari visited the injured at the teaching hospital near the site on Saturday night and reviewed the situation.
Around midnight, the Chief Minister announced that a special investigation team (SIT), headed by a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court, would be formed to probe the incident. He said no one from the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durgatsab committee or Kolkata Police would be spared if found negligent in crowd management.
Senior officials from the Kolkata Police Special Task Force and the West Bengal Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) would also be part of the SIT, he said. Adhikari added that he would write to Chief Justice R V Ghuge, requesting him to appoint a sitting judge to head the team.
The state government will provide compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the family of each deceased person and offer a job to one member of each bereaved family, the Chief Minister announced.
He also said that each injured person would receive Rs 5 lakh in compensation, with the government bearing all medical expenses.
Nineteen people were killed and several others injured in the stampede at the community Durga Puja pandal on Saturday evening.
The incident occurred around 7.30 pm at the Chorbagan community Durga Puja pandal on Muktarambabu Street in north Kolkata, amid heavy rain and lightning.
Several visitors alleged that inadequate safety arrangements by the Kolkata Police had contributed to the stampede.
Around 45 injured people were taken to the nearby Kolkata Medical College and Hospital in the Bowbazar police station area, many reportedly suffering from suffocation and breathing difficulties. Seventeen people died shortly after being admitted on Saturday evening.
According to hospital and police sources, the initial fatalities included three men, 13 women and one child. Several other victims were reported to be in critical condition, raising fears that the toll could increase.
The state government launched a toll-free helpline, 18003455678, soon after the incident.
Thousands of people had gathered at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durgotsab Committee pandal when a sudden spell of rain caught visitors off guard. The venue is located along a narrow stretch of road, with several lanes leading to the main pandal.
Many people outside rushed inside to take shelter from the rain, while those already inside struggled to get out. People caught outside also pushed their way towards the entrance to escape the downpour. The resulting crush reportedly caused people to tumble over one another on a makeshift staircase.
BJP MLA Bijoy Ojha, who represents the Jorasanko constituency, is the committee’s chairman. Debdeep Adhikari, the Chief Minister’s nephew, is also a member.
Bikash Das, a committee member, told reporters that the cause of the incident remained unclear.
“We are still in the dark about how the incident happened. It’s not yet clear whether it was an incident of stampede,” he said.
The pandal had an iron structure beneath which the idol of Goddess Durga was installed. A portion of the structure is suspected to have collapsed, potentially contributing to the casualties.
Kolkata Police halted the Puja at Chorbagan and disconnected the electricity supply to the pandal soon after the incident.
The deceased were identified as Sriparna Poddar (26), Mithu Mandal (45), Akriti Kumari (17), Barnali Haldar (17), Subham Shankar (33), Arati Sarkar Biswas (45), Tagar Baij (37), Tania Biswas (18), Kalpana Jana (46), Bikash Bhattacharya (66), Sneha Bhandari (20), Sandip Baiz (14), Piyali Pramanik (25), Priya Samaddar (18), Pranjal Sarkar (13), Dilip Ghosh (59), Dipali Ghosh, Abhishek Srivastava (38) and Ayangsh Kumar Srivastava (7).
Meanwhile, the state government has constituted a separate inspection team to assess the infrastructure, fire safety arrangements and crowd management systems at major Durga Puja pandals across Kolkata.
The team comprises Rajesh Singha, secretary of the Disaster Management Department; Anuj Sharma, director-general of the State Fire Services; and Javed Shamim, additional director-general of the Special Task Force.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the injured undergoing treatment at the Apollo hospital today. He has postponed his other programmes, including his visit to the Belur Math.
After the stampede, Kolkata Police imposed restrictions banning any unlawful assembly of five persons or more, or so carrying batons, any lethal or dangerous weapons or doing any act which is likely to cause breach of peace or disturbances in the Chorbagan and its adjoining areas for three days from Sunday.
