Shoes, bags, bottles and glasses lie scattered outside the Chorbagan puja, local residents criticized police deployment, claiming there were insufficient personnel for crowd management
KOLKATA: Local residents questioned the police deployment after a stampede at the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata killed at least 19 people and injured 25 others on Saturday evening that they alleged that most police personnel were stationed near the VIP entrance, leaving other areas inadequately monitored. The incident also revived memories of the 2015 crowd scare at Deshapriya Park during Durga Puja in Kolkata. Several people fell ill or suffered injuries, but no deaths were reported.
Doctors at Medical College Kolkata, where most of the injured were admitted, said suffocation was the main cause of death. Residents who were among the first to respond to the incident blamed poor crowd management, saying there were not enough policemen or volunteers at the site. Several victims also sustained injuries in the crush. Thousands had gathered to see what was billed as the world’s largest Durga idol, bringing traffic across large parts of south Kolkata to a standstill.