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The treasurer of the Chorbagan Durga Puja was arrested for allegedly misleading revellers by announcing that a section of the pandal was collapsing, which appeared to have triggered panic among them and led to the stampede that claimed the lives of 19 people last week, police said on Friday. Sanjib Raha, alias Sentu, was initially detained from a hideout in Nadia district on Thursday and later arrested, a senior officer said. "There were two persons who were making announcements at the Chorbagan Durga Puja. He was one of them. He had been absconding since the incident occurred in the evening of October 17. We initially detained him in Nadia and then arrested him after hours of questioning," he said. At least 19 people died, and 25 others were injured in the stampede at the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata following a crowd surge amid rain. The two persons, who had been making announcements at the puja pandal on the Maha Saptami day, were identified via CCTV footage, the
The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed that the West Bengal government set up a commission of inquiry headed by a retired judge of the court to inquire into the stampede at Chorbagan Durga puja pandal on October 17 that claimed 19 lives. A division bench presided by Chief Justice Ravindra V Ghuge said that a sitting judge of the high court cannot be appointed to head an inquiry in accordance with a Supreme Court directive, as was prayed for by the state government. The bench said a retired judge of the high court can be chosen by the West Bengal government to head the inquiry commission into the cause of the stampede and the people responsible for the incident. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had said that a sitting judge of the high court would head a special investigation team (SIT) to be formed to probe the incident. The vacation bench of the court, in a special sitting on Navami of the Durga puja festival, was hearing a PIL by a lawyer seeking an independent and speedy pro
Police on Sunday produced before a local court the seven arrested persons in connection with the stampede at a Kolkata Durga Puja pandal, which resulted in the death of 19 people, a senior official said. Twenty-five people were also injured in the stampede at Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata, following a crowd surge amid rain on Saturday evening. "The arrested persons have been taken to Bankshall court. We would appeal for their custody," the official told PTI. Those arrested include the puja committee's secretary, vice-president and two employees of a private security agency. Police have also registered a suo motu case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the case.
Kolkata Police are investigating whether lapses in crowd management, confusion over entry and exit routes and heavy rain contributed to the stampede at Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal that left 19 people dead on Saturday evening, a senior officer said. Several eyewitnesses alleged that announcements about entry, exit and crowd movement were inadequate, leaving visitors confused during the rush hours. Locals also claimed that police deployment at the pandal was inadequate, alleging that personnel were mainly stationed near the VIP entrance. "I have not seen adequate police presence this year. This resulted in the mismanagement," Sanghamitra Bhowmik, a resident of the Chorbagan area, said. Locals also alleged that there was little administrative assistance in taking the injured to hospitals. "There must be some lapses, but these should be probed. Whether lapses were on the part of the organisers or they had flouted the rules to erect the pandal will be checked," the police officer told
At least 25 people were injured in a stampede-like situation arising out of a crowd surge at a community Durga Puja in north Kolkata on Saturday evening, police said. As it started raining, the crowd waiting outside the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal rushed forward, and some of them fell on the road, leading to the stampede-like situation, a senior officer said. "At least 25 people were taken to the Kolkata Medical College and Hospital in serious condition," he said. West Bengal Health Minister Saradwat Mukherjee and senior officials rushed to the hospital. Disaster management personnel rushed to the spot.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the stampede in Kolkata is extremely distressing and announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured. At least 10 people are feared dead in a stampede following a crowd surge at a community Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata on Saturday evening. "The stampede in Kolkata is extremely distressing. My thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest," Modi said in a post on X. The prime minister said the local administration is providing all possible assistance to those affected. Modi announced that an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh will be given from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund to the next of kin of each of those who lost their lives and Rs 50,000 to each injured person.
Nine people, including a four-year-old child, were killed and six injured when a fire swept through a five-storey building housing several hotels in central Kolkata on Wednesday, with several Bangladeshis among the dead, prompting the government to order a statewide fire-safety audit. Officials of the state government and the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission initially said five of the deceased were Bangladeshis, including a woman and a child. However, sources at the Bangladesh mission later said the number of Bangladeshis killed in the blaze had risen to seven, adding that an official statement would be issued on Thursday morning. The blaze at Shikha Inn on Mirza Ghalib Street, near the New Market area, came barely 48 hours after another hotel fire in Tarapith killed nine people, putting the safety standards of the state's hospitality sector under renewed scrutiny. Fire and Emergency Services Minister Kaushik Chowdhury said the fire brigade received the call at 2.07 am and began .
At least nine people died, and six were injured in a fire at a hotel on Mirza Galib Street in central Kolkata early on Wednesday night, police said. Five fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the blaze that erupted around 1.45 am. Police and Disaster Management Department personnel reached the spot for the rescue operation. The injured have been taken to a nearby hospital. "The dense smoke made it difficult for firefighters to climb the staircase and reach the upper floors. While nine people have died, more deaths are feared," a police officer told PTI. "Our priority is to rescue those trapped and determine the reasons for the fire. The flames have been doused, and the cooling process is underway," he added. West Bengal Fire Department headquarters is located close to the hotel building.
A fire broke out at the old Air Traffic Control (ATC) building of N S C Bose International Airport here on Tuesday, officials said. There was no report of any injury or any flight disruptions due to the fire, they said. Airport employees noticed the fire on the third floor of the building. Two fire tenders were rushed to the spot, which brought the blaze under control, officials said. The fire was brought under control and did not spread to other parts of the building, Airport director Vikram Singh said. "Fire broke out in an open area on the third floor of the old ATC building. It was brought under control and did not spread," Singh said. According to preliminary assessments by fire officials, the old ATC building had been decorated with string lights on the occasion of Independence Day. The fire is suspected to have been caused by a short circuit in one of the decorative lights. Airport authorities said that there was no major damage in the incident. The exact cause of the fire
A city court on Tuesday granted bail to 18 people, after initially remanding them to two days of judicial custody, who were arrested in connection with violence during a NEET paper leak protest by the Left students' organisations. Several journalists were injured when some people attacked them during the march from Sealdah station to Esplanade in central Kolkata on July 24. The court granted bail to all 18 people arrested in connection with violence during the NEET paper leak protest by the Left students' organisations. Sixteen were arrested earlier, while two others were apprehended by the police on Monday. The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court had earlier in the day remanded the arrested persons in connection with violence during a NEET paper leak protest by the Left students' organisations to judicial custody till July 30. The accused persons were represented by lawyers Shamim Ahmed, Raja Sengupta, Yasin Rahaman, Sanjay Kumar Gupta and other advocates. Following Friday's u
The toll in the Kolkata warehouse collapse incident rose to 16 on Saturday with the death of an injured person in a hospital, while rescue teams from multiple agencies sifted through the debris on the fourth day since the incident to ensure no one is still trapped, officials said. Cameras have been placed beneath the rubble to check for trapped persons, while mobile phone tower data is being used to trace the location of individuals whose phones remain active under the debris. "Our first priority is to complete the search and rescue operation. Teams are carefully checking every part of the collapsed structure. Massive debris clearance will start only after we are fully satisfied that no one is trapped inside," an official said. Large-scale debris removal will begin only after rescue personnel are certain that there are no more survivors or bodies under the rubble, he said. A senior state government official said, "A person, Khalek Sardar of Basanti, undergoing treatment at the ...
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday said nine people have died and 20 others were injured when an under-construction warehouse collapsed in Kolkata's Taratala area a day ago. In a statement in the Assembly, he announced Rs 10 lakh compensation for the families of each deceased and Rs one lakh for each injured in the incident. Of the 20 injured, one is in critical condition, and four are in serious condition, the chief minister said. Stating that five people have been arrested in connection with the warehouse collapse at Transport Depot Road in west Kolkata, Adhikari asserted that no one will be spared. He said that former mayor and minister Firhad Hakim's signature appears on the building plan of the collapsed warehouse. A day earlier, the chief minister said that preliminary inputs received from Kolkata Municipal Corporation engineers suggested that there were defects in the building plan approved for the warehouse. He has suspended till July 31 the work of a