Kolkata, Oct 18 The second day of Durga Puja was overshadowed by the stampede in Kolkata the night before, which killed 19 people, including a seven-year-old. As bereaved families collected bodies from morgues, the government announced sweeping safety measures, with a high-level committee inspecting compliance.
While police arrested seven people, including organisers of Chorbagan Durga Puja, for the pandal stampede, Union Home Minister Amit Shah cancelled his puja engagements to meet 14 injured people undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
The tragedy triggered intense bickering between the ruling BJP and the Mamata Banerjee faction of the Trinamool Congress over accountability for one of the deadliest incidents to mar the city’s festivities.
The seven arrested, including the Chorbagan puja committee general secretary and vice-president, were produced in court. Police have registered a suo motu case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Amid concerns over crowd management, police deployment and allegations of negligence against Chorbagan puja organisers, officials said investigators were examining the arrangements, the role of organisers and possible lapses by personnel deployed.
The state government decided to deploy nine IPS officers experienced in Durga Puja crowd management to handle the festive rush in Kolkata.
CM Adhikari attended a high-level meeting at the CID headquarters and later hinted at scrapping the practice of Durga Puja pandals having VIP gates, and ordered a review of safety arrangements at major pujas.
He also said temporary home guards deployed at the Chorbagan pandal would be investigated for alleged negligence in duty during the stampede that left 25 people injured.
“This was their third year on such duty following their earlier engagements in 2024 and 2025,” he said. “We (government) are carrying on our shoulders a massive pile of rubbish. A clean-up will take time.”
Adhikari said the special team constituted following the stampede will inspect safety arrangements at all puja pandals in the city and take decisions on the spot. “If necessary, the number of visitors will be regulated. There will be no separate queues for VIPs,” he said.
The team has been formed under the leadership of the state disaster management department secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, Fire Services DG Anuj Sharma, and Special Task Force ADG Javed Shamim.
On Sunday, the team began its task by inspecting the Santosh Mitra Square community puja, followed by other big-ticket pandals, including Tala Prattoy. Anuj Sharma said puja organisers were cooperating with the authorities. “Everyone wants Durga Puja to be held properly,” he said.
The panel decided that food stalls would not be allowed near entry and exit gates and that separate VIP entrances would be done away with. Officials also stressed the need for wider exits, adequate lighting and removal of bottlenecks created by temporary enclosures.
Pointing out that the stampede occurred at the common entry and exit gate and not inside the puja pandal, Adhikari said guards had allegedly used a rope to divide the passage, and they rushed to take shelter when it started raining.
“The pandal was dimly lit. If the incident occurred inside the pandal, the death toll would have been much higher,” he said.
Besides the home guards, organisers and authorities who issued permission to the puja would also be investigated, Adhikari said, highlighting that Kolkata Police, the civic body and the state fire services department have been kept out of the special investigation team to ensure an impartial probe.
“We would seek the Calcutta high court chief justice’s permission to get a sitting judge to head the probe. The team would include officials of the home department, the police chief, the NDRF and the state disaster management department,” he said.
While the government spruced up puja arrangements, families bereaved by the stampede waited outside Calcutta National Medical College and the NRS Medical College, some speechless with grief and others breaking down in tears, calling out to loved ones who would never return.
“I have nothing left. There will never be a Durga Puja in our lives again,” wailed Vinod Haldar, a rickshaw puller from New Town in eastern Kolkata, who lost his 17-year-old daughter in Saturday’s stampede.
Post-mortems were conducted at the two state-run hospitals and the bodies were handed over to the kin.
Adhikari said 23 people suffered minor injuries and were likely to be discharged soon, while two remained in intensive care. The chief minister said he would visit the bereaved families on October 20 and 21 and hand over cheques of the compensation amount announced.
He also said magistrates and DSP-ranked officers had been tasked with supervising the handover of bodies to their kin and remain with the families until the cremations were done.
Meanwhile, the Mamata Banerjee faction of the Trinamool Congress accused the police and administration of failing to ensure adequate crowd control and emergency arrangements.
The opposition claimed that Debdeep Adhikari, designated as the chief patron of the Chorbagan Durga Puja committee in publicity materials, was actually the chief minister’s nephew.
TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee demanded accountability, asking, “When will you put the culprit nephew in jail, Suvendu Babu?.
Party MLA Kunal Ghosh alleged the previous puja committee had been forced to resign after the change of government. He also questioned the decision to shift injured victims from state-run Calcutta Medical College and Hospital to a private facility after treatment had begun.
Responding to a question on the alleged involvement of Debdeep Adhikari in the affairs of the Chorbagan Puja, BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya said he had no knowledge of the matter. The CM condemned attempts to turn the incident into a political controversy, saying the administration was focused on relief and assistance to victims and their families.
He also announced that a toned-down Bijoya Sammilani would be held on October 26, when puja committees would discuss lessons from the tragedy.
(PTI News)
