The Kolkata stampede that killed 19 people and injured 25 at a Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata has triggered plans for a judicially headed investigation, citywide safety inspections and the removal of separate VIP queues at major puja venues. The crowd surge occurred on Saturday evening amid heavy rain at the Chorbagan marquee, where narrow access lanes and overcrowding were cited by local residents as possible contributing factors.
West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal would write to Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge seeking permission for a sitting judge to head the Special Investigation Team. If permission is not granted, the government will appoint a retired judge, Adhikari said.
The proposed SIT will include a home department official of at least joint secretary rank, representatives of the director general of police and the National Disaster Response Force, and state disaster management secretary Rajesh Sinha. Kolkata Police, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the fire services department have been excluded from the investigation team so that possible lapses by these agencies can be examined independently.
The government has also formed a special inspection team to examine safety arrangements at major puja pandals across Kolkata. The team includes senior officials from the disaster management department, Director General of Fire Services Anuj Sharma and Special Task Force Additional Director General Javed Shamim. Police officers leading stations across the districts have been instructed to inspect pandals, prepare crowd-management guidelines and ensure that organisers comply with them.
Adhikari said the government was considering ending separate VIP entry gates and queues at puja pandals, particularly those drawing large crowds. Popular and high-budget puja committees often provide special access to visitors carrying VIP passes, which can allow them to bypass regular queues. “There will be no separate queues for VIPs,” Adhikari said, adding that visitor numbers could be regulated where necessary.
The chief minister defended the police response after eyewitnesses questioned the availability of personnel when the stampede occurred. He said families of victims had told him that police had helped transport injured people to hospitals, including by hiring cabs through online aggregators. He also said he would monitor crowd movement from the Kolkata Police headquarters traffic control room.
The state government has announced compensation of Rs 25 lakh for each bereaved family and Rs 5 lakh for every injured person. Of the 19 people who died, one was from Muzaffarpur in Bihar and the others were residents of West Bengal. Magistrates and deputy superintendent of police-ranked officers have been assigned to oversee the handover of bodies and remain with families until cremations are completed.
Twenty-three injured people suffered minor injuries and were expected to be discharged, while two remained in intensive care. The government will meet Durga Puja committees from Kolkata and its suburbs on October 26 at a toned-down Bijoya Sammelani to review this year’s arrangements and discuss measures to prevent similar incidents. Compensation cheques for the injured are also expected to be handed over at the meeting.
