The West Bengal government will set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by a sitting judge of the Calcutta high court to probe the stampede at a Durga Puja in Kolkata that has left 19 people dead so far, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said, even as seven people were arrested.
Two of the devotees killed in the stampede are from Muzaffarpur in Bihar, the chief minister said, adding: “Some families have lost more than one member in the stampede”.
The stampede occurred around 7.30pm on Saturday at Chor Bagan, one of the city’s most popular Durga Puja venues, in cramped north Kolkata, as crowds jostled through a narrow bylane on Saptami, the seventh day of the festival, even as rain lashed the city and left the streets slippery.
At least 25 people were injured in the incident and the condition of one of them is believed to be critical. According to the police, the puja organiser and members of the security agency and event management company are among those arrested.
“The toll has risen to 19. Initially, 17 people were declared dead by doctors at the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital hospital. Later, a child succumbed at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Another woman died on her way to a private hospital. I have spoken to the family members of around 12 – 13 families,” Adhikari told reporters.
Since the puja committee had taken the requisite permission from the Kolkata Police, fire brigade and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, a SIT headed by a sitting judge would be set up to probe the possible lapses, he added. “We will appeal to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta high court to appoint a sitting judge to head the SIT,” he said.
The chief minister announced a government job and ex-gratia of ₹25 lakh for the next of kin of each of those who were killed in the incident. He said the injured would be given ₹5 lakh each and the state would bear their medical expenses.
CCTV footage from the pandal has been seized by the Kolkata Police for a detailed probe. A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered under sections 105 and 110 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
“Legal action would be taken against any persons if any lapses are found. It could be club volunteers, temporary home guards, police personnel and security agencies engaged by the club. The individuals will be identified from CCTV footage,” Adhikari said.
He said the deceased are mostly from economically backward families.
“A rickshaw puller lost her daughter. A person who deals with cloth pieces lost his college-going daughter. Children have died. It is very pathetic,” he said.
Chor Bagan, less than 2km from Howrah Bridge, is one of Kolkata’s oldest Durga Puja pandals. People seeking cover from the rain began rushing towards the pandal through the narrow lane, said eyewitnesses. Within seconds, people slipped and fell over each other, triggering a cascade.
Union home minister Amit Shah, who is currently in Kolkata, is likely to visit the victims in the hospital on Sunday. Shah was scheduled to visit some of the puja pandals but cancelled his programmes in the wake of the incident.
Adhikari said all puja-related programs of the government, ministers and MLAs have been cancelled for the next few days. “The families, whom I met, said they have faith in me,” he said.
The Chor Bagan Sarbojanin Durgotsab Samity puja pandal was shut after the stampede. Soon, a few other crowded puja pandals, including Chetla Agrani and Tala Prottay, were also shut, the police said.
