Kolkata Police has changed the officer-in-charge of Girish Park police station a day after a crowd crush at Chorbagan Sarbojanin puja killed 19 people and injured 25, according to a report by Anandabazar. Hirak Dalpati, an officer of the Kolkata Police detective department, has been given additional responsibility for the station from Sunday.
The Chorbagan Sarbojanin pandal falls within the jurisdiction of Girish Park police station, which is part of Kolkata Police’s Central Division. Sumit Kumar Ghosh had served as the station’s officer-in-charge since March. The report said he was removed from the post after the incident, but no official explanation for the change was available in the supplied report.
According to claims by Ghosh’s colleagues cited by Anandabazar, he fell ill after visiting the accident site at Chorbagan on Saturday. The report did not identify an official statement confirming that his reported illness was the reason for the transfer. The change in charge therefore comes as questions continue over crowd management and the police response at the puja venue.
The crush occurred on Saturday evening, during Saptami, as visitors gathered at the Chorbagan pandal. Eyewitnesses and several visitors alleged that the police and administration did not manage the crowd adequately and that police personnel and security staff reached the site late after the incident. Chief Minister and state police minister Shubhendu Adhikari said the police had performed their duties, while also stating that the allegations of negligence would be investigated.
Adhikari visited the West Bengal Police traffic control room at Araksha Bhavan on Sunday evening before proceeding to Lalbazar, the Kolkata Police headquarters. Following the Chorbagan disaster, several senior police officers have also been brought into Kolkata Police for the duration of the puja period to help manage crowds. Anandabazar reported that at least nine Indian Police Service officers, each with experience in managing festival crowds, had been temporarily assigned to the city.
Lalbazar has additionally issued an 11-point advisory to every police station in Kolkata on preventing incidents at major puja venues. The instructions include closing a pandal’s entrance when rain begins, safely moving people already inside out of the structure, preventing gatherings within the pandal and ensuring adequate lighting.
The advisory also directs police officers and personnel on duty not to leave their positions during rain and asks them to keep raincoats available. Entry to pandals is to be regulated according to conditions, while vehicles carrying special visitors are not to be allowed up to the pandal. Such vehicles must be parked at a specified distance from the venue.
Hirak Dalpati’s additional charge of Girish Park police station follows his recent involvement in a special investigation team formed after workers died when an under-construction warehouse collapsed in Taratala. He is currently posted with the detective department. The official findings of the investigation into the Chorbagan crowd crush and any formal explanation for the station-level change were not available in the supplied report.
