In a significant response to one of the worst tragedies of this year’s Durga Puja celebrations, the West Bengal government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a comprehensive inquiry into the stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal that claimed 19 lives and left around 25 people injured on October 17.
The tragic incident occurred on Maha Saptami evening around 7:40 pm in the narrow lanes of North Kolkata’s Girish Park area. A sudden downpour drove hundreds of visitors to seek shelter, triggering a dangerous crowd surge at the pandal’s exit. Preliminary accounts point to a combination of overcrowding, narrow entry and exit points, inadequate security arrangements, and possible confusion caused by announcements as key factors behind the chaos.
Most of the victims were women and children. Several families have shared heartbreaking accounts of losing loved ones in the crush, with post-mortem findings indicating deaths due to asphyxiation and severe traumatic injuries.
Acting in consultation with the Calcutta High Court, the state government issued an official order on October 21 constituting the SIT. Retired Justice Anindita Roy Saraswati will chair the team. Other members include the Principal Secretary of the Disaster Management and Civil Defence Department, the Director General of the Special Task Force (STF), a senior police representative not below the rank of Additional Director General, a Joint Secretary-level officer from the Home and Hill Affairs Department, and a representative of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) stationed in Kolkata.
The SIT has been tasked with examining the exact sequence of events, crowd movement patterns, structural conditions of the venue, weather factors, preparedness of organisers and security personnel, CCTV footage, and any lapses in coordination among agencies. It will also assess compliance with safety norms and recommend measures to prevent similar incidents during large-scale Durga Puja gatherings, particularly in the congested lanes of North Kolkata.
The team has been directed to submit its findings and recommendations to the state government within three months.
The formation of the SIT comes days after the tragedy, during which the state government announced ex-gratia compensation and the Kolkata Police arrested several people, including office-bearers of the puja committee, in connection with the case. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had earlier assured a thorough probe and accountability.
The Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja, a long-standing community celebration in its 91st year, drew large crowds this season and had recently come under a new organising committee. The incident has reignited debates over crowd management and safety protocols at popular pandals during peak festive days.
As the SIT begins its work, grieving families and the wider public await answers on what led to the preventable loss of lives during one of Bengal’s most cherished festivals.
