Pandal will collapse, leave: Cops believe announcement set off deadly stampede

Circumstantial evidence, along with accounts from locals and eyewitnesses, points to inadequate crowd control measures as a possible contributing factor in the tragedy, according to a police officer.

In Short

• Inadequate crowd management, misleading announcements under probe
• Insufficient cops, private guards were deployed at the venue: Police officer
• 19 people have died due to the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal stampede

The stampede that left at least 19 people dead at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata on Saturday evening may have resulted from panic caused by a lack of proper crowd management and misleading announcements following a sudden downpour, a senior police officer told news agency PTI.

He said investigators had come across a video where the announcer could be heard saying that the pandal was about to collapse.

"We have video footage of an announcement asking people to leave the pandal on the grounds that the structure was about to collapse. We are trying to identify who made the announcement and what prompted it," the officer said.

Circumstantial evidence, along with accounts from locals and eyewitnesses, points to inadequate crowd control as a possible contributing factor in the tragedy, according to the official.

Police also found that the number of police personnel and private security guards deployed at the venue was insufficient, further aggravating the situation, PTI reported.

"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. Security personnel were inadequate," the police officer said.

Announcements guiding visitors on entry, exit and crowd movement were insufficient, leaving them confused amid the rush, he added.

According to the officer, neither the gate at the venue, nor the approach road outside the pandal were wide enough to accommodate the sudden influx of people.

"Due to the mismanagement, people tried to escape through the entrance gate during the stampede. Both the gates and the approach road were narrow, which contributed to the accident," he said.

CM SHARES PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari also shared limited updates about the preliminary investigation, saying the stampede was supposedly triggered after a public announcement and the blowing of whistles.

"Initial input from the ACP [Assistant Commissioner of Police] who was present on the spot says that this thing was triggered after an announcement by a private security agency and the blowing of some whistles," he was quoted as saying by ANI.

The CM has also announced government jobs and Rs 25 lakh as compensation for families who lost their loved ones.

"For all the injured, the full responsibility for their medical treatment has been taken by the state government, and we will provide Rs 5 lakh as compensation to each of them," he stated in a video statement released by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO).

Adhikari also vowed the formation of a fact-finding committee headed by a sitting High Court judge to probe the incident.

Meanwhile, locals alleged that the deployment of cops at the venue was inadequate, and that they were mainly positioned near the VIP entrance.

Following the stampede, the Kolkata Police arrested at least seven people, including the secretary and the vice president of the puja's organising committee.

- Ends
(With inputs from agencies)