A stampede at the Chorbagan pandal in Kolkata turned a festival evening into a mass-casualty tragedy, with victims being brought to Calcutta Medical College and Hospital from around 8 pm as relatives gathered outside seeking information about those injured or missing.
The emergency department and adjoining areas of the hospital were placed under tight police control as injured people continued to arrive until about 10 pm, according to eyewitness accounts reported by the Times of India. Access restrictions left many family members struggling to learn whether their relatives were alive, injured or among those who had died.
Relatives said some victims were brought to the hospital in cabs and private vehicles, rather than only in ambulances. Several families also alleged that there had been inadequate arrangements at the pandal and that organisers, volunteers and police personnel were not available to move victims quickly after people fell during the stampede. These claims have not been independently established in the supplied report.
Among those reported dead was 18-year-old Tania Biswas of Rajarhat. Her mother, Rupa Biswas, said Tania had left home in the afternoon to visit pandals with friends. She was informed around 8.30 pm that her daughter had been taken to the hospital and that doctors had declared her dead. Tania’s friends told the newspaper that several people fell on top of her during the stampede and that she was motionless when they found her.
Suman Sonkar, 21, from Kankurgachi, was also reported to be among the dead. Her sister, Shreya, said the family learnt of her death at the hospital. She alleged that people were lying around after the incident without volunteers, organisers or police personnel to take them for medical care, and that delays in receiving treatment may have contributed to deaths. The report does not provide an official account of the cause of death or a confirmed toll.
Priya Samaddar, 20, from Madhyamgram, had been visiting pandals with a friend before she was taken to the hospital. Her father, Shyamal Samaddar, said he reached the hospital after receiving a call from his daughter’s friend but was not allowed to see her. He blamed those responsible for the arrangements at the event for her death.
The emergency department also became a gathering point for families searching for people who had not returned home or were not answering calls. Tupun Roy of Santoshpur said his brother-in-law had gone to Chorbagan with friends and remained unreachable. He said police personnel asked the family to wait for information.
The hospital area saw the arrival of senior ministers, Bharatiya Janata Party functionaries and police officials. Police personnel and vehicles were deployed around the emergency department, while relatives who attempted to approach visiting officials were stopped, according to the report.
The incident also brought the festive activity around College Street to an abrupt halt. The area, usually crowded with revellers on Saptami evening, began emptying as police asked people to disperse. The public-address system, which had earlier played shehnai and Puja music, fell silent while ambulance sirens continued outside the hospital.
The reported events have raised immediate questions about crowd control, emergency access, on-site medical support and coordination between pandal organisers, police and hospitals during one of Kolkata’s busiest festival periods. The authorities had not, in the supplied report, announced a confirmed death toll, a formal account of how the stampede began or details of any investigation.
