The Bengal government has appointed a special investigation team headed by a retired judge to probe the Chorebagan puja pandal stampede in Kolkata that killed 19 people and injured at least 25 others on October 17. The inquiry will reconstruct the crowd surge, examine possible negligence and recommend safeguards for large public gatherings in congested areas.
According to the government order reported by Telegraph India, the three-month inquiry will be chaired by Justice (retired) Anindita Roy Saraswati. The team includes senior officials from the Disaster Management and Civil Defence Department, police, the state Home Department and the National Disaster Response Force in Calcutta. A representative of the Bengal director-general of police, not below the rank of additional director general, will also be part of the panel.
The order was issued on October 21 and requires the special investigation team to submit its findings and recommendations to the state within three months. The team may seek the inclusion of additional officers if required during the inquiry.
The investigation will examine how the initial crowd surge began and developed into a stampede. It will assess the number of people present at the venue, crowd movement, entry and exit flows, and whether attendance exceeded the reasonably assessed safe capacity of the premises.
The inquiry will also consider whether overcrowding, adverse weather conditions, rumours, public announcements, whistles, sudden movements or panic contributed to the incident. Electrical failure and structural deficiencies have been listed among the possible factors that the team will examine.
Investigators will inspect passages, barricades, stairways, gates and emergency exits. They will review CCTV footage, mobile phone videos, forensic findings, call records, police station and control room logs, medical records and other physical evidence to reconstruct the sequence of events.
The terms of reference extend beyond the pandal itself. The team will assess the preparedness, response time and conduct of puja organisers, private security personnel, volunteers, police, ambulance services, hospitals, fire services and civic authorities. It will examine whether permissions were issued in accordance with applicable rules and whether crowd-management, disaster-management, evacuation and police-deployment plans were prepared and implemented.
The probe will seek to determine whether negligence, dereliction of duty or coordination failures can be attributed to the organisers or any agency involved, including the police, Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the public works department, fire and emergency services and CESC.
The government has also tasked the team with recommending safeguards for large Durga Puja gatherings in congested areas, particularly in north Calcutta’s narrow lanes. The inquiry will examine the compensation and rehabilitation provided to the families of those killed and injured. Its findings are expected within three months of the October 21 order.
