At least 17 people died and several others were injured after a stampede at the Chorebagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata on Saturday, prompting police to close the venue and restrict entry at several other major puja sites across the city.
The injured were taken to Calcutta Medical College and Hospital, according to the police. Senior Kolkata Police officials reached the pandal after the incident, while visitors were stopped from entering the Chorebagan venue.
The West Bengal government launched a toll-free helpline, 18003455678, for information related to the stampede, the state Information and Culture department said. Authorities have not yet released a detailed official account of the total number of injured or the identities of those who died.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who visited the hospital, said initial information from the assistant commissioner of police present at the site suggested that the incident began after an announcement by a private security agency and the blowing of whistles. Adhikari said he would not make a definitive statement before the investigation was completed and assured that the inquiry would be conducted transparently.
The Chief Minister also said members of the puja committee and the security agency involved had been detained. The statement did not specify the sections under which they were detained or whether any arrests had been made.
The Chorebagan pandal had drawn particular attention this year for its theme, “Arob”, described in the report as meaning “Beyond Sound” in English. The incident took place during Kolkata’s Durga Puja celebrations, when large crowds visit prominent pandals across the city.
As a precautionary measure, police stopped visitors from entering Suruchi Sangha, Chetla Agrani and several other large puja pandals. Tala Prattoy also announced that it would remain closed to visitors until further notice. The closures followed earlier crowd-control concerns at other Kolkata puja venues, including Deshapriya Park, Sreebhumi and Kalyani, where pandals had reportedly faced huge gatherings and stampede-like situations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the incident as “extremely distressing” and said the local administration was providing assistance to those affected. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said he had spoken to Adhikari, expressed condolences to the families of those who died and postponed his programmes in West Bengal scheduled for Sunday to visit the injured. Former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also expressed condolences and wished those injured a speedy recovery.
CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty called the incident unfortunate and said the administration and state government would have to take responsibility. The police investigation and the treatment of those injured remain the immediate next steps, while access restrictions at major pandals remain in force.
