A crowd crush at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata on Saptami evening left at least 18 people dead and 25 injured, according to a report by Bartaman Patrika, although the same report later describes the toll as 19. The incident has raised serious questions about crowd management, emergency access and safety arrangements at one of the city’s busiest festival venues.
The report says 14 women and five children were among those who died, while six of the injured were in critical condition. It states that 35 people were taken to hospital, where doctors initially declared 18 dead, followed by another death. The conflicting figures require confirmation from the police, hospitals and the civic administration before a final toll can be established.
According to the account, the crush occurred after heavy rain drove people waiting outside towards the pandal. A narrow entrance was reportedly allowing visitors to enter continuously, increasing pressure inside the enclosure. The report further says that an announcement by the organisers was followed by whistle signals from private security guards indicating that visitors could enter.
The crowd then surged into the darkened pandal, with people attempting to find shelter and move through different sections of the structure. The report says that an artificial floor gave way under the pressure, causing visitors to fall. Local residents began rescue efforts, while the injured were transported to hospital. Police subsequently closed the pandal.
The report says 12 people, including organisers and volunteers, were detained on allegations of negligence. It also alleges that the private security agency engaged for the event was inexperienced and that the police station had not requested additional forces despite large crowds gathering after the pandal’s inauguration. These claims remain attributed to the report and require confirmation from the investigating authorities.
The incident led several crowded puja venues across Kolkata to temporarily restrict visitor entry on the same night. Programmes involving Union Home Minister Amit Shah and state ministers were also reportedly cancelled following the disaster. The report says the chief minister and senior officials visited Kolkata Medical College, where the injured were being treated, and that central forces were deployed outside the emergency department.
The chief minister, quoted by Bartaman Patrika, described the incident as tragic and said police were examining CCTV footage. He reportedly attributed the disaster partly to inadequate lighting and said the puja committee should have taken greater precautions. He also said that a fact-finding inquiry would be sought from the chief justice of the Calcutta High Court and that a special investigation team involving the State Task Force, the Criminal Investigation Department and other agencies would be formed.
The Chorbagan committee had reportedly changed hands before this year’s festival and conducted a second foundation ceremony. The pandal’s theme was described as “A-Rob”, meaning silence. The report said the crush surpassed the scale of the 1980 Eden Gardens football-stadium stampede, in which 16 people died, but that comparison and the current toll require confirmation from official records.
The immediate official priorities are establishing the verified death toll, identifying the sequence of events through CCTV and witness accounts, examining the pandal structure and crowd-control plan, and determining whether organisers, security personnel or public agencies failed to meet safety obligations. Until formal statements are released, the number of fatalities and several operational details should be treated as reported claims rather than conclusively established facts.
