Kolkata immersion security has been strengthened for Durga Puja idol immersions from 21 to 24 October, with 12 IPS officers assigned to supervise operations across Kolkata Police areas after a reported stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin pandal killed 19 visitors.
The deployment was announced in a state police notice issued on Tuesday. A total of 18 IPS officers have been assigned to monitor idol immersions in four major cities: Kolkata, Howrah, Barrackpore and Chandannagar. Kolkata will have the largest deployment, with 12 officers divided across four immersion days.
In Kolkata Police areas, IPS officers Gaurav Sharma, Soma Das Mitra, Rashid Munir Khan, Akash Magharia, Sureshkumar Chadive and Dhritiman Sarkar will supervise immersions on 21 and 23 October. IPS officers Praveen Kumar Tripathi, Imran Wahab, Sheesh Ram Jhajharia, Soumya Roy, Parijat Biswas and Siddharth Dhapola will be responsible for monitoring on 22 and 24 October.
The police arrangement covers the main immersion period beginning on Dashami, 21 October, and continuing through Saturday, 24 October. The notification assigns officers by name and date, indicating that supervision will be distributed across different parts of the city rather than handled through a single central deployment.
Additional monitoring has also been ordered in Howrah, Barrackpore and Chandannagar. Two IPS officers have been assigned to each of these areas. In Howrah Police District, Indra Chakraborty will supervise immersions on 21 and 23 October, while Avaru Rabindranath will be on duty on 22 and 24 October. Palash Chandra Dhali and Dyutiman Bhattacharya have been assigned to Barrackpore Police District. Abhijit Bandyopadhyay and Sandeep Mandal will oversee operations in Chandannagar.
The increased deployment follows the death of 19 visitors in a stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin puja pandal in Kolkata on Saptami, 17 October, according to the report. The Kolkata Police has formed a special investigation team to examine the incident, and six people have been arrested in connection with it.
Immersion processions bring together large crowds, vehicles, organisers and visitors around roads, riverfronts and designated ghats. The state police and Kolkata civic authorities are now maintaining heightened vigilance to prevent further untoward incidents during the immersion period. The assigned IPS officers will supervise operations across the four scheduled days, with the police notification specifying responsibility by city and date.
