The Kolkata stampede at a north Kolkata Durga Puja pandal killed 19 people and injured 24 others on Saturday night, prompting seven arrests, a proposed judicial probe and new crowd-control measures at major puja venues across the city. One of the injured remains in critical condition.
Police filed a suo motu case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and arrested seven people, including two office-bearers of the Chorbagan Durga Puja committee. Those arrested include committee secretary Rajkumar Seoda, vice-president Shantanu Dubey, Biplab Mukhopadhyay, who was responsible for installing the bamboo structure, crowd managers Kaushik Saha and Pintu De, and private security agency employees Suman Chakraborty and Rajesh Pal.
The crush occurred around 7.30pm during Saptami amid heavy rain. According to the report, visitors began rushing towards the exits after an announcement allegedly warned that the pandal structure might collapse. Several people fell on stairs near the exit and were trampled as the crowd attempted to leave.
A special investigation team is examining CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts to establish who made the announcement and why. A senior Kolkata Police officer said investigators had gathered sufficient evidence pointing to “gross mismanagement” by the organisers. The officer said there was no clear plan to manage the large number of visitors and that arrangements were handled verbally.
Residents described panic and inadequate crowd control at the venue. Ramji Sau, a local resident, said people panicked after organisers announced that the pandal might cave in. Another resident, Beauty Naskar, alleged that there were hardly any police personnel or volunteers controlling the crowd, with some young volunteers occupied on their phones.
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh for each injured person and said a magistrate-rank officer and a DSP-rank officer would accompany each victim’s body home. He also promised a judicial probe headed by a sitting judge, subject to the chief justice’s approval, or by a retired judge, and said its findings would be made public.
Adhikari said temporary home guards managing ropes separating entry and exit routes abandoned their posts when the rain began. He directed police across Bengal to inspect major pandals, restrict entry where necessary and enforce safety measures. Nine IPS officers with previous Kolkata Police experience have been assigned puja duty in the city.
Police have been instructed to keep exits clear, improve lighting, maintain crowd movement and carry ropes, guardrails and loudspeakers. Across Kolkata, puja committees began increasing lighting, deploying volunteers, positioning fire tenders, clearing exits and limiting the number of visitors inside pandals.
Santosh Mitra Square adopted staggered entry and increased its volunteer strength, while Thakurpukur SB Park reduced its permitted crowd from around 200-250 people at a time to about 100. Queues continued at popular pandals, including Md Ali Park and College Square, although some visitors said they had reconsidered their plans after family members urged them to avoid crowded venues.
The arrests also became a political flashpoint at Girish Park police station, where Trinamool Congress, CPM and Congress representatives demanded accountability. Trinamool MLA Kunal Ghosh and West Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar called the arrests an “eyewash”, while the CPM demanded action against those responsible for prioritising control of the puja committee over visitor safety. BJP Bengal president Samik Bhattacharya urged parties to focus on bereaved families and justice. The state’s immediate measures include inspections of major pandals, tighter entry restrictions and enforcement of crowd-safety arrangements.
