UPDATE: The death toll in the Chorbagan Durga Puja stampede has since risen to 19, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said, with 17 of the victims dying on the spot. Of the 25 injured, 24 were out of danger while one remained in critical condition.
Police detained 12 people on Saturday night in connection with the incident, including organisers of the Chorbagan Durga Puja, private security guards and civic volunteers deployed at the pandal. A special investigation team (SIT) headed by a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court will probe the tragedy, drawing officers from the Special Task Force and the CID. Kolkata Police have seized CCTV footage of the site.
The state government announced Rs2.5 million (Rs25 lakh) and a government job for the family of each person killed, and Rs500,000 (Rs5 lakh) for each injured person, with the state covering full treatment costs. Adhikari warned that no one found negligent would be spared. Reports said the puja committee’s general secretary and office-bearers resigned after the incident.
Seventeen people lost their lives and 25 others were injured when a crush broke out at a religious festival venue in the Indian city of Kolkata on Saturday evening, officials said.
The crush happened at around 7:40pm local time at the exit gate of the Sarada Park pandal, also known as the Chorbagan pandal, in the Girish Park area of North Kolkata, according to a statement from Kolkata Police. A pandal is a temporary structure set up for the Durga Puja festival, where idols of the Hindu goddess Durga are displayed for worship.
Police said the surge came as large crowds of festival visitors moved through the venue during rainfall. Those hurt were taken to Calcutta Medical College and Hospital for treatment. Police reinforcements, firefighters, disaster management teams, ambulances and medical teams were sent to the scene, and the pandal was closed to visitors after the incident.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said 17 people had been brought dead to the hospital and 25 others were injured. He visited the hospital where the injured were being treated. Reports said the dead included 13 women, three men and a seven-year-old child, and that one of the injured was in a critical condition.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed sorrow over the deaths and offered condolences to the bereaved families. His office announced compensation of 200,000 Indian rupees from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the next of kin of each person killed, and 50,000 rupees for each injured person. The statement added that the West Bengal administration was providing assistance to the affected families.
Durga Puja is one of West Bengal’s largest annual festivals, drawing huge crowds to elaborately decorated pandals across the state. It marks the goddess Durga’s victory over the demon Mahishasura.
The precise sequence that set off the crush had not been independently established. One eyewitness described narrow gates and poor lighting near the venue, while officials pointed to heavy crowds and rain.
