Kolkata stampede: 7 arrested, section 163 imposed and 5 major Durga Puja pandals shut to devotees
New Delhi: In the wake of a tragic stampede at north Kolkata’s famous Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal, both the state administration and city police have cracked down heavily. Officers rounded up 14 suspects for questioning before formally arresting seven key accused. Alongside the arrests, Section 163 has been clamped across Kolkata to preserve order, and authorities have barred general devotees from five marquee pandals.
Among those placed under arrest are the puja committee secretary Rajkumar Seoda alias Raja (48) and vice president Shantanu Dubey (55). The police also picked up Biplab Mukherjee alias Joy (48), who oversaw the bamboo structure setup, alongside Kaushik Saha (53) and Pintu Dey (51), who were responsible for crowd handling and screening VIP passes. Two private security guards, Suman Chakraborty (30) from Basirhat and Rajesh Pal (29) from Hooghly, were also taken into custody on charges of severe negligence.
The tragedy brought immense grief to a family from Kankurgachi, where young resident Shubham Sonkar lost her life. She had arrived at the venue alongside her parents and younger sister when the crush broke out. Shubham got separated in the chaos, and by the time her panicked relatives traced her through the rush, she had already succumbed to her injuries.
5 pandals closed and citywide restrictions
Following a comprehensive assessment of the security setup, police enforced Section 163 from Sunday, 18 October, through Tuesday, 20 October. The order strictly outlaws the carrying of lethal weapons and curbs any activities likely to spark public disruption.
Apart from Chorbagan, footfall has been temporarily halted for public visitors at four other spots- Tala Pratima, Chetla Agrani, Alipore Sarbojanin, and Allen Park on Park Street. Consequently, renowned singer Shankar Mahadevan’s scheduled musical concert at Allen Park on 20 October faces likely cancellation.
State reviews VIP passes and crowd routes
Top brass gathered at the state administrative headquarters in Nabanna/Bhabani Bhavan to overhaul ground arrangements. The Director General of Police, Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, and senior IPS officers met directly with district magistrates, police commissioners, superintendents of police, and disaster management teams. Officials reviewed entry and exit gates across venues, ordering strict curbs on VIP entry passes and mandating unhindered pedestrian movement.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah also reached Kolkata on Sunday. After offering prayers at the Kalighat temple alongside state party leaders, he headed straight to the hospital to check on the devotees injured during the Chorbagan rush.