A tragic stampede struck the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata
“Due to the mismanagement, people tried to escape through the entrance gate during the stampede.
Security personnel were inadequate,” the police officer said. Both the gates and the approach road were narrow, which contributed to the accident,” he said, adding that announcements regarding entry, exit and crowd movement were inadequate, leaving visitors confused during the rush. Police also found that the number of police personnel and private security guards deployed at the venue was inadequate, worsening the situation. “We have gathered sufficient evidence pointing to gross mismanagement by the puja organisers. There was no clear plan to manage the large number of visitors, and everything was handled verbally. We have collected CCTV camera footage, recorded accounts from locals and eyewitnesses, and corroborated our findings. He also ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court, to investigate the incident.
KOLKATA: Lack of crowd management and misleading announcements following a sudden downpour during Saptami celebrations may have triggered panic among visitors, leading to a stampede at the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata, a senior police officer said on Sunday. Circumstantial evidence, along with accounts from locals and eyewitnesses, suggests that inadequate crowd control contributed to the incident at the pandal on Saturday evening, he said.
We are trying to identify who made the announcement and what prompted it,” the officer said. “We have video footage of an announcement asking people to leave the pandal on the grounds that the structure was about to collapse.