Saptami happens to be the busiest night during Durga Puja as people flock into Kolkata’s pandals in large numbers. However, on October 17th (Saturday), while the festivities were taking place, a deadly stampede took place at the Chorbagan venue due to rains.
According to the statement from the Kolkata Police, the stampede occurred at about 7:40 PM near the exit point of the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Puja pandal located in the Girish Park police station area.
As many as 19 people died in the stampede, including a child. Most of the deaths have been women. Twenty-five people sustained injuries in this incident.
The investigators are currently trying to put together the chronology, and, as such, it is quite early to come up with conclusive findings. The police have suggested that poor crowd management, as well as small entry and exit gates and false announcements, may have led to the chaos.
An officer noted that the police officers as well as the private security guards manning The event was not enough for the many attendees.
The officer further indicated that in the chaos, people tried to flee through the entry gate during the stampede.
The detentions took place fast. Seven individuals have been arrested by the Kolkata police, including the office-bearers of the Puja committee.
These include the secretary of the committee Raj Kumar Sewda and vice-president Santanu Dubey. The other three include an individual working in pandal construction, two crowd-control workers, and two security in-charges of the private security agency.
Numbers of persons detained varied in different accounts. While police had detained 12 individuals, including organizers, on Saturday night, in another account, the number of initially detained people is said to be 14.
A suo moto case has been filed against the accused under Sections 105, 110, and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Section 105, according to a similar case filed by the Karnataka government, talks about culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari came forward to show that the state is taking action. He offered ₹25 lakh compensation and a Group D government job to one family member of each person killed in the tragedy.
A Special Investigation Team consisting of a serving Calcutta High Court judge would be constituted to conduct the inquiry with members drawn from STF, CID, and other departments. The Chief Minister said that he wanted "the entire state to stand by grieving families."
An emergency helpline service at 1800-345-5678 was launched by the state government. A forensic team arrived in the pandal area while the police commissioner went to the hospital.
It came at a politically sensitive time when former chief minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her grief and shock, saying, "I am deeply grieved and shocked." Union Home Minister Amit Shah even called up Adhikari and changed his Bengal itinerary to visit the injured people.
The report of OrissaPOST added that the Chief Minister asked the opposition not to make any political gain out of the tragedy.
Other Puja committees in the city have started making more stringent arrangements for crowd control now.
The incident follows a well-known trend of small exits, huge crowds, and little precautions. In Bengaluru, 11 people lost their lives and 56 were injured in June 2025 outside the stadium.
The reaction to the situation was prompt. The Karnataka state chief minister removed the city police commissioner from office along with other officers and set up a one-man judicial commission to investigate the matter.
Another older instance would be the 18 deaths that occurred due to a crowd rush in a narrow lane in Malabar Hill, Mumbai. Later on, the police commissioner of the city confessed that the incident could have been averted.
It will be interesting to note if the Kolkata SIT goes beyond the organizers and investigates the police.
