India
oi-Madhuri Adnal
At least 19 people, including several women, died in a stampede at a Durga Puja pandal in Chorbagan, north Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Sunday. The incident left 25 others injured. The stampede broke out at around 7.30 pm at Chor Bagan, a popular Durga Puja venue in north Kolkata, as crowds pushed through a narrow bylane on Saptami, the seventh day of the festival. Heavy rain had left the streets slippery.
A stampede at a Kolkata Durga Puja pandal on Saptami killed 19 and injured 25; CM Suvendu Adhikari announced Rs 25 lakh compensation per deceased family, Rs 5 lakh for injured, and requested a high-level probe, while a state safety review panel was formed.
Police have detained several people, including members of the puja organising club, staff of the private security agency and those responsible for crowd management at the pandal, Adhikari said. PTI quoted an officer as saying that 12 people had been detained so far.
Adhikari visited the pandal late at night and met the injured at Kolkata Medical College and Hospital. He announced Rs 25 lakh compensation for each deceased person’s family, along with a Group D government job for one eligible member of each family.
The state government will also cover the full cost of treatment for the injured and provide Rs 5 lakh compensation to each of them, he said.
Calling the incident tragic, Adhikari said 17 of the 19 victims died at the spot. Of the 25 injured, 24 were out of danger, while one person remained in critical condition. “The government is making every possible effort,” he told reporters.
Adhikari added that 13 members of the affected families had met him and expressed confidence in the government’s response. He also said the Union Home Minister’s scheduled programmes had been cancelled following the incident.
“We stand with all the affected families,” he said.
Adhikari seeks high-level probe into stampede
Adhikari said he would write to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, requesting the formation of a fact-finding committee to investigate the stampede. The proposed committee would include forensic teams and the Special Task Force (STF).
The state government has also set up a high-level committee to review safety arrangements at major Durga Puja pandals across West Bengal.
The panel will include Disaster Management Principal Secretary Rajesh Sinha, Fire Services Director General Anuj Sharma and Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Javed Shamim.
The committee will assess crowd management arrangements, emergency exit routes and structural safety at prominent Puja venues to identify possible risks.
Adhikari said the Prime Minister’s Office had sought a report from the Chief Secretary and that the report had already been submitted. He added that the Centre and the state government were coordinating their response to the incident.
The chief minister also targeted former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging that similar incidents had taken place during the previous government’s tenure. He accused some people of trying to turn the tragedy into a political issue.
Referring to incidents in 2025, Adhikari said 13 people had died due to electrocution during the Puja season amid heavy rain. He questioned the then chief minister’s response to the incident and whether she had visited the affected families.
He also brought up the floods in north Bengal, claiming that 100 people had died across areas stretching from the Darjeeling hills to Nagrakata.
Adhikari questioned Banerjee’s response to those affected by the floods, using the incidents to criticise the previous government’s handling of such tragedies.
