At least 17 people were killed and several others injured in a stampede at the Chorbagan puja pandal in Kolkata on Saptami evening, prompting the state government to announce a Special Investigation Team under the supervision of a serving Calcutta High Court judge. Kolkata Police has detained 10 people in connection with the incident and is examining how crowd control and visitor movement were managed at the venue.
The incident took place at about 7.40 pm, according to the report by Sangbad Pratidin. Witnesses said a rush began after announcements were made over the public-address system. Several people reportedly fell while attempting to leave the pandal, after which the crowd crush occurred. The police investigation is examining the arrangements for regulating visitors, security measures and the entry and exit routes at the pandal.
Investigators are also looking into whether negligence contributed to the deaths. The 10 detained people are being questioned as police seek to establish the sequence of events and the immediate cause of the crowd movement. The pandal has been cordoned off by police while the inquiry continues.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited Kolkata Medical College after receiving news of the incident and met the families of the dead and those injured. She later visited the site at night. The chief minister described the incident as extremely tragic and said that human life was more important than the theme or decoration of a puja pandal.
Banerjee said the state would write to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court requesting the appointment of a serving judge to oversee the investigation. The Special Investigation Team is expected to examine the circumstances of the deaths and the crowd-management decisions taken at the venue. The announcement places the investigation within a judicially supervised framework rather than leaving it only to the routine police inquiry.
The state government has announced financial assistance of Rs 25 lakh for each bereaved family and one government job for a member of each family. The government has also taken responsibility for the treatment of those injured. These measures were announced alongside the probe and are separate from the process of determining responsibility for the incident.
The chief minister also said that a special team would visit prominent Kolkata puja pandals on Sunday to review arrangements. The proposed inspections are expected to focus on public safety, access and exit routes, crowd control and compliance with advice from the fire services and administration. The Chorbagan pandal remains under police watch as investigators work to establish what led to the fatal rush.
