Kolkata: Kolkata Police has arrested the second announcer whose frantic public broadcast — ‘the pandal is collapsing’ — triggered a panic and the stampede that claimed 19 lives at Chorbagan on Sept 17.Kushal Majumder alias Kalia was picked up from Girish Park. Locals claimed that Majumder had surrendered at the Hare Street PS. This is the ninth arrest in this case.Majumder, who posted a video on his Facebook page and also uploaded signed statements, claimed that the news of the pandal ‘collapsing’ was relayed to him by the puja committee secretary’s son. He claimed he had no such experience in making announcements despite his 20-year association with this puja.Majumder, an app-cab driver who lives at Amar Basu Sarani less than 100 meters from the pandal, also alleged that he was being “framed” and acted without any “ill-intent”.In a Facebook Live video published prior to being taken into custody, Majumder said: “I work as an app-cab driver. I had also made an announcement over the microphone, but there was no ill intent behind it. The elders in the neighborhood told us that, for now, everyone should stay hidden. Two days later, I got a call from the police station. I was about to leave for the PS, but someone from the neighborhood called and told me not to go before 27th. I am still turning myself in at the PS thinking about my daughter’s future.”Majumder claimed he stepped up to handle the microphone in the absence of the regular operator. Majumder wrote that the son of club secretary Raj Kumar Sewda, identified as Kabir, then came and said, “The rear portion of the pandal has collapsed.” As he was about to step outside, a cop told them to make announcements that can help public. He said that when he went forward, the person who had been handling the microphone was not there. Majumder claimed that he then made the announcement himself, despite having no prior experience, because he felt compelled to do so. He insisted he had no malicious intent.However, witnesses and video evidence recovered on the public announcement indicate that the announcement dramatically escalated the panic. Viral footage showed intense pushing and jostling roughly 8 to 10 meters inside the pandal from the exit gate, with several visitors falling to the ground and screaming in fear as cops struggled to control the crowd. The warning to evacuate immediately triggered a frantic rush toward the exits. CCTV footage retrieved supports claims that the panic-inducing announcement was broadcast over the loudspeakers.A preliminary forensic report by experts revealed that severe overcrowding and inadequate ventilation significantly contributed to the tragedy. Despite 24 ACs operating with a combined capacity of 134 tons, forensic experts concluded that the cooling and ventilation systems failed to manage the massive influx of visitors, creating stifling, suffocating conditions inside the enclosed space. Preliminary post-mortem reports confirmed that the 19 victims died of suffocation.The other announcer involved in the incident — Sanjeev Raha, who also serves as the committee treasurer — was produced before a local court on Friday and remanded in cop custody until Oct 28.KP commissioner Ajay Nand stated that authorities were awaiting the findings of the SIT before drawing final conclusions regarding accountability. “The probe and subsequent SIT report will establish whether there any lacunae on the coordination between police and organisers. We have now arrested both announcers. We will establish each accused’s role when we place the charge sheet,” said Nand.
