The Mamata All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) has launched a sharp attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and Kolkata Police over a stampede at a Durga Puja pandal that claimed 19 lives, highlighting the chief minister's nephew, Debdeep Adhikari, who is listed as chief patron of the Chorbagan Sarbojonin Durgotsab Samity.
The opposition party questioned the authorities' preparedness and alleged that inadequate crowd management, insufficient police presence and a lack of emergency arrangements contributed to the tragedy at the popular Chorbagan pandal on Saturday evening.
In a series of social media posts, the Mamata AITC alleged that there were not enough police personnel, civic volunteers or ambulances at the venue when the situation spiralled out of control.
It cited accounts from locals and eyewitnesses to question the security arrangements and the administration's response.
"Where was the security and emergency response when people needed you most?" the party asked on its social media handles, targeting Kolkata Police over the alleged lapses.
The party's national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, also questioned the alleged involvement of the chief minister's nephew in the puja organising committee and demanded accountability from the ruling establishment.
Referring to the committee's list of office-bearers, he asked, "When will you put the culprit nephew in jail, Suvendu Babu?"
The party shared what it described as publicity material from the Chorbagan puja organising committee, which listed Debdeep Adhikari as its chief patron, Vijay Ojha, the BJP MLA from the local Jorasanko constituency, as chairman, and BJP North Kolkata district president Tamaghna Ghosh as chief adviser.
It demanded that those connected with the event be held accountable.
Mamata AITC spokesperson and MLA Kunal Ghosh further alleged that the previous puja committee had been "forced" to step down following the change of guard in power and that a new committee had "captured" it.
Ghosh posted on Facebook a letter purportedly written by former puja secretary Jayanta Banerjee on July 17, tendering his resignation and relieving other committee members of their responsibilities.
"The previous committee in Chorbagan was allegedly forced to resign, following which a new set of people 'captured' the new committee. Take a look at the resignation letters of the former committee members and the list of members of the new committee," Ghosh wrote, bringing the current leadership of the puja committee under scrutiny.
Acting on a suo motu case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder registered at the local Girish Park police station, police arrested seven people on Sunday, including puja committee general secretary Raj Kumar Sewda and vice-president Santanu Dubey.
Responding to a question about Debdeep Adhikari's alleged involvement in the affairs of the Chorbagan puja, BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya said he had no knowledge of the matter.
"To the best of my knowledge, the chief minister's nephew is a minor and stays in Kanthi in Purba Medinipur district. How can he get involved in a Kolkata puja? I do not wish to indulge in politics over this tragedy. I am quite devastated at the scale of this horrible incident," Bhattacharya told reporters on Saturday evening after visiting the site of the stampede.
In a message early on Sunday morning, Adhikari strongly condemned attempts to politicise the tragedy and lashed out at critics. He said the state's police and administrative leadership was doing everything in its power to provide relief to the victims and their families.
"Without blaming anyone, I would say that last year there were two incidents, the first where 13 people died of electrocution in waterlogged areas and second, where over a hundred people were washed away in flash floods in the upper reaches of West Bengal. You had seen the role of the then chief minister at the time," Adhikari said.
"I am not comparing them with the current tragedy, only saying this because things are being written on social media. I will ask them to refrain from making such comments. People will spit on you; if you keep doing it," he added.
The stampede occurred between 7.30 pm and 7.40 pm on Saturday as a large crowd gathered at the pandal amid rainfall. The crush took place near an exit and a narrow approach lane, with a sudden surge in the crowd and people falling over one another triggering chaos. Investigators are examining the sequence of events and the possible role of crowd-control failures.
Adhikari has ordered a probe into the incident. Police detained organisers, private security personnel and others involved in crowd management for questioning, while investigators are examining possible security lapses and the management of entry and exit routes.
The chief minister has also said he would request the Calcutta High Court chief justice to facilitate an inquiry led by a judge.
The state government has announced compensation of Rs 25 lakh and a government job for one member of each deceased person's family. It has also announced Rs 5 lakh for each injured person and coverage of their medical expenses.
The tragedy has cast a shadow over Durga Puja celebrations in the city, with authorities inspecting other crowded pandals and reviewing safety arrangements to prevent a recurrence.
(With inputs from PTI)
