Story perspectives

Kolkata Police arrest pandal collapse announcer after stampede

By Drooid · Oct 23, 2026, 5:04 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Kolkata Police Arrests

Kolkata Police arrested treasurer Sanjib Raha for announcing the pandal was collapsing, which sparked a stampede.
Kushal Majumdar was arrested for making the same collapse announcement.
Police used CCTV footage and eight burner phones to locate Raha.
A six-member Special Investigation Team, led by Justice Anindita Roy Saraswati, is probing the tragedy.
Preliminary autopsies said traumatic asphyxia from chest compression caused most deaths.

Summary

Government Recalls IPS

The government recalled nine seasoned IPS officers a day after the stampede to strengthen crowd management.
Police staffing gaps left over 10,000 constable posts vacant and fewer than 500 sub-inspectors filled.
Only three of ten divisional heads have prior Durga Puja crowd-control experience, exposing widespread inexperience.
Drop-gates were installed near the pandal to cap crowd numbers, a safety measure cited by police.

History

Historical Context

The February 2013 Kumbh Mela stampede in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, killed 36 pilgrims and injured dozens during the sacred bathing ritual on the banks of the Ganges. State officials, including Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, deployed 5,000 security personnel and installed 12 temporary barriers, yet crowd density exceeded 4 persons per square metre. Today's Kolkata Durga Puja tragedy mirrors that disaster, as police reliance on ad-hoc announcements and understaffed units—only 500 sub-inspectors for 10,000 vacancies—re-created similar crowd-control failures. The 2013 incident prompted India’s Ministry of Home Affairs to mandate permanent crowd-management protocols, a step Kolkata authorities now must institutionalize to prevent future stampedes.

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Kolkata Police Arrests

Kolkata Police arrested treasurer Sanjib Raha for announcing the pandal was collapsing, which sparked a stampede.
Kushal Majumdar was arrested for making the same collapse announcement.
Police used CCTV footage and eight burner phones to locate Raha.
A six-member Special Investigation Team, led by Justice Anindita Roy Saraswati, is probing the tragedy.
Preliminary autopsies said traumatic asphyxia from chest compression caused most deaths.

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