Kolkata: At least 19 people died, and 25 others were injured in a stampede at the Chorebagan Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata following a crowd surge amid rain on Saturday evening, the day of Maha Saptami.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who rushed to the Kolkata Medical College and Hospital, where the victims were taken, also announced that his government will provide Rs 25 lakh and a Group D govt job for the family of each deceased.
Rs 5 lakh will also be given to each injured person, and the entire treatment cost at any hospital of their choice will be borne by the government, he added.
"An SIT headed by a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court will investigate the incident. The SIT will comprise members from STF, CID and other departments," he said.
He said the government will write to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to depute a sitting judge for the probe.
"As of now, 19 people have died, and 25 are undergoing treatment. We are making arrangements for postmortems as per the law. Till now, family members of nine dead have reached here. I have spoken to them personally," the CM said.
Anti-Rowdy Section (ARS) of Kolkata Police have collected CCTV footage of that place during the mishap.
"We will check the footage and take appropriate measures against those who failed to manage the crowd. That could be a member of the puja committee, a homeguard, a temporary worker, a policeman, or a private company security guard. Nobody will be spared," Adhikari said.
Giving details of the incident, he said an announcement by the organisers of the community Durga Puja at Chorebagan in north Kolkata led to a rush among the revellers, causing the "painful incident", and a probe will be initiated into the tragedy.
The officials of the Chorebagan Durga Puja organiser club, private security guards and officials on duty have been detained, he added.
According to a police officer, as it started raining, the crowd waiting outside the pandal rushed forward, and some of them fell on the road, leading to the stampede.
Adhikari also said that six of the deceased have been identified so far and arrangements are being made to bring their family members to the hospital.
"Fact-finding will be done, and steps will be taken," the chief minister said.
Meanwhile, the administration has advised several crowd-pulling theme pujas to temporarily close down their pandals following the incident. There are nearly 3500 pandals to celebrate Durga Puja in Kolkata.
President Of India Express Grief
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and several others condoled the tragedy.
"The news of the deaths of people in a Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata is extremely sad. I express my deepest condolences to all the bereaved families. I pray for the swift recovery of those who have been injured," the President said in a post on X in Hindi.
PM Narendra Modi's Message
Modi described the stampede as "extremely distressing" and announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
"The stampede in Kolkata is extremely distressing. My thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest," Modi said in a post on X.
The Prime Minister said the local administration is providing all possible assistance to those affected.
Shah, who arrived here in the evening and was scheduled to visit the puja pandals on Sunday, said he is postponing his scheduled programmes in the wake of the stampede and will visit those injured in the incident.
Former West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee Expresses Grief
Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said she was deeply shocked about the stampede-like situation at Chorbagan puja pandal.
"Deeply shocked and saddened to learn about the stampede at the Chorbagan puja pandal. I pray to Maa Durga for the speedy recovery of all those injured and for strength and courage for their families during this difficult time," she said.
State Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal also visited the state-run hospital.
West Bengal Governor RN Ravi said, "Deeply saddened by the loss of precious lives in the stampede at a Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families in this hour of grief. Praying for the swift recovery of the injured."
West Bengal Health Minister Saradwat Mukherjee and senior officials also rushed to the hospital.
Disaster management personnel have been deployed at the site, an officer said.
The state government has also launched a toll-free helpline for information related to the stampede.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
