Kolkata Police have arrested seven people after a crowd-related accident at the Chorebagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja venue left 19 people dead and 25 injured, according to a report by Anandabazar – Kolkata. Those arrested include senior members of the puja committee, personnel responsible for VIP pass checks and crowd control, two private security guards and a worker associated with the pandal’s bamboo structure.
Police began detaining and questioning several people on Saturday night after the incident. The report said 14 people were initially held for questioning before a suo motu First Information Report was registered against the organisers on charges relating to culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Seven people were subsequently arrested on Sunday morning.
The arrested puja committee members were identified as secretary Rajkumar Sewda, also known as Raja, and vice-president Shantanu Dube. Kaushik Saha, who was responsible for checking VIP passes and managing the crowd, was also arrested. Pintoo Dey, identified as being in charge of crowd control, is among those detained by the police.
Biplab Mukhopadhyay, who was associated with construction of the bamboo framework of the pandal, was also arrested. The other two accused were identified as Suman Chakraborty and Rajesh Pal, both employees of a private security agency. The arrests indicate that the police investigation is examining several layers of responsibility at the venue, including event management, access control, crowd movement, security deployment and temporary construction.
The case has placed the organisation of large public religious gatherings under scrutiny. Durga Puja venues in Kolkata routinely attract substantial footfall, making the management of entry routes, restricted-access passes, emergency movement and temporary structures central to public safety. In this case, the police action has extended beyond the event organisers to people assigned specific operational duties at the venue.
According to the report, Chief Minister Shubhendu Adhikari said on Saturday night that nobody linked to the accident would be spared. He also said that police had collected CCTV footage and that action would be taken if negligence was found in the recordings. The footage is expected to form part of the investigation into how the incident occurred and whether crowd-control or safety arrangements failed.
The puja committee’s publicly displayed poster reportedly showed the involvement of Debdeep Adhikari, described in the report as the chief minister’s nephew. Jorasanko BJP MLA Vijay Ojha was identified as the committee’s chairman, while North Kolkata district BJP president Tamoghna Ghosh was also reported to be associated with the puja. These political links have added public attention to the investigation, although the police case will determine individual responsibility based on the evidence collected.
The 25 injured people are undergoing treatment in hospitals. Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited an injured person at a private hospital in Kolkata on Sunday morning. He had several Durga Puja-related programmes scheduled in the city, but those engagements were suspended following the accident.
The investigation is continuing with the examination of CCTV footage and the questioning of people associated with the venue. The next steps will depend on the evidence gathered by Kolkata Police in the case.
