Stampede at a crowded Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata kills 19; nine people from the organising side arrested

Nineteen people died after a crowd crush at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata on Saturday, October 17, during one of the busiest weekends of the Hindu festival, The Hindu and The Indian Express reported. The Hindu said the dead included 11 women and four children, and that about 25 people were injured.

During the festival, worshippers visit pandals, temporary structures built to hold images of the goddess Durga.

What early reports say happened

The investigation is at an early stage. According to The Indian Express, a sudden downpour sent people waiting outside rushing toward the pandal for shelter, adding to a crowd that was already heavy. The Hindu, citing preliminary reports, said that once the pandal was packed, organisers made an announcement telling people to leave because the structure could collapse, and private security staff blew whistles. The Hindu described the announcement as misleading and said it set off the panic.

Arrests and charges

Kolkata Police registered a case on their own initiative at Girish Park police station under sections 105, 110 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, India's criminal code. Section 105 covers culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Fourteen people were detained on Saturday night, and seven were arrested on Sunday, both papers reported.

Those arrested include the secretary and vice-president of the puja committee, a pandal construction worker, two crowd-control staff and two people in charge of private security, The Indian Express reported. Police say they are looking into crowd management, safety procedures and the structure. By Oct. 23, police had arrested nine people, including the person said to have made the announcements at the pandal, The Hindu reported on Oct. 24. The Hindu said the dead were 13 women and girls and six men and boys, four of them minors, and that 25 people were injured. No one has been convicted, and we're not naming the accused.

What the state government says

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the state's chief secretary will ask the chief justice of the Calcutta High Court to set up a special investigation team led by a sitting judge. Kolkata police officers will be kept off it because questions have been raised about the force's own role, he said, according to The Hindu.

The state has since formed the team. It is led by a retired judge, Justice Anindita Roy Saraswati, and its members visited the pandal on Oct. 22, The Hindu reported.

Adhikari told police to issue new crowd-management guidelines for the rest of the festival, including limits on entry to crowded pandals if needed. The state announced compensation of ₹25 lakh (2.5 million rupees) for each victim's family. Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited injured people in hospital.

Pandals reopened to visitors on Sunday, and fire and police officials asked organisers to improve lighting inside them, The Hindu reported. The chief minister said the closing Bijoya celebrations would go ahead without pomp.

Sources

• The Hindu
• The Indian Express

Drafted with AI assistance from primary sources. Written and edited by The Whole Read newsroom under Monsaur Othman's editorial standards. Read how we use AI, our editorial policy and our corrections policy.