Kolkata: Kolkata Police has summoned theme artist Susanta Shibani Pal for questioning over the Oct 17 stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal. Pal designed the theme and layout of the pandal. He has been asked to appear at Lalbazar by Wednesday.Investigators will check the original design plans to see if the pandal was built according to the approved layout. They will also examine whether poor planning, narrow exits, bad lighting, or other structural problems may have led to overcrowding and the stampede.Police seized the design documents from the Chorbagan club premises on Sunday. Club treasurer Sanjib Raha, who is now in police custody, has already been questioned about the crowd management plan in front of four other club members. Police said they needed to find out whether safety problems existed from the planning stage itself.Pal could not be reached by phone on Monday and did not respond to messages. He was also associated with pandals at Ballygunge Cultural and Santoshpur Avenue South this year.After the tragedy, Pal had expressed deep sorrow and said he felt personally responsible because people had come to see the installation he created. He had also suggested that he might rethink whether to continue working as a pandal theme artist.The incident has led to wider concern among Durga Puja organisers in Kolkata. Many are now calling for stricter safety checks, better crowd control, and careful review of large and complex pandal designs.
