Kolkata stampede: 7 arrested over 19 deaths

Kolkata Police have arrested seven people, including office-bearers of the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja organising committee, in connection with the stampede that killed 19 people and injured 25 in the city on Saturday. Police have also registered a suo motu case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, a police official was quoted as saying by PTI.

The arrested include Raj Kumar Sewda alias Raja (48), the secretary of the organising committee; Santanu Dubey (55), its vice president; and Biplab Mukherjee alias Joy (48), who was involved in constructing the bamboo structure, Kolkata Police said, according to ANI.

The other four arrested are Koushik Saha (53), who was involved in crowd control and VIP pass checking; Pintu Dey (51), also involved in crowd control; and private security in-charges Suman Chakraborty (30) and Rajesh Pal (29).

Police are also working to identify those killed in the stampede, which occurred at the pandal amid rain on Saturday evening, the day of Maha Saptami.

Lack of crowd management and confusing announcements following a sudden downpour may have triggered panic among visitors, leading to the stampede, a senior Kolkata Police officer told PTI on Sunday.

Circumstantial evidence, along with accounts from local residents and eyewitnesses, points to inadequate crowd control at the venue, the officer said. Police also found that the number of police personnel and private security guards deployed at the pandal was insufficient, worsening the situation.

"We have gathered sufficient evidence pointing to gross mismanagement by the puja organisers. There was no clear plan to manage the large number of visitors, and everything was handled verbally. We have collected CCTV camera footage, recorded accounts from locals and eyewitnesses, and corroborated our findings. Security personnel were inadequate," the officer said.

The officer said visitors attempted to flee through the entrance gate during the stampede. Both the gates and the approach road were narrow, contributing to the incident. Inadequate announcements about entry, exit and crowd movement further confused visitors during the rush, the officer added.

Police have also obtained video footage of an announcement asking people to leave the pandal because the structure was allegedly about to collapse. Investigators are trying to establish who made the announcement and what prompted it.

Local residents also claimed that police deployment was inadequate, alleging that personnel were concentrated mainly near the VIP entrance.

A team of forensic experts visited the pandal on Saturday night and collected evidence from the site.

Another team was expected to visit on Sunday to gather further evidence, while officers from the Kolkata Police Detective Department would also examine the venue.

Police are planning to question survivors to obtain first-hand accounts and cross-check findings based on statements from local residents and other eyewitnesses.

Meanwhile, Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Kumar Nand imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 on roads adjoining the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal on Sunday morning. The restrictions prohibit gatherings on roads surrounding the venue, which falls under Bowbazar Police Station, and will remain in force until October 20.

The stampede has prompted the West Bengal government to order safety inspections at major Durga Puja venues and establish a high-level committee to recommend measures to prevent similar incidents.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced the committee after the tragedy. The panel will review crowd management, exit routes and structural safety at prominent pandals.

The committee will be led by Principal Secretary of Disaster Management Rajesh Sinha, Director General of Fire Services Anuj Sharma and Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Javed Shamim. A team of senior police officers, guided by the director general of police, will also inspect major venues.

Adhikari has directed organisers to follow the committee's safety recommendations, prioritising visitors' safety over elaborate pandal structures and themes.

Organisers may be advised to limit rituals to the inner sanctum and use LED screens outside if complex structures pose safety risks or obstruct crowd movement. Authorities have also called for wider exits, adequate lighting and the removal of bottlenecks created by temporary rope enclosures, alongside tighter crowd control.

Adhikari visited Kolkata Medical College and Hospital, where the injured were taken, and announced compensation of Rs 25 lakh and a Group D government job for the family of each deceased person. He also ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court, to investigate the incident.