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Kolkata Police seeks court permission for suspects’ voice samples

By Drooid · Oct 24, 2026, 4:06 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Kolkata Police Court Request

Kolkata Police asked a court to permit voice sample collection from two arrested suspects.
Investigators gathered three to four audio and video clips to compare with the suspects’ voices.
Police recorded statements from about 60 witnesses, including the 25 injured.
Arrests include puja treasurer Sanjib Raha and announcer Kushal Majumdar, bringing detainees to nine.
The Chorbagan Durga Puja stampede on October 17, 2026 killed 19 and injured 25.

Summary

CM Limits Idol Access

Police Commissioner Ajay Kumar Nand denied police involvement in selecting immersion participants after CM Suvendu Adhikari’s Sanatan comment.
Nand said puja committees alone decide who may join the immersion process.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced at Babughat that only Sanatan Dharma followers may touch Durga idols.
Police asked puja committees to follow statutory rules amid opposition parties labeling the remarks communal.

History

Historical Context

During the February 2013 Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, a crowd crush at the railway station killed 42 pilgrims and injured dozens, prompting Uttar Pradesh police and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to launch an inquiry. The tragedy echoed earlier disasters, notably the 1954 Prayagraj stampede that killed roughly 800 people, and occurred as the festival drew an unprecedented 120 million attendees.

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Kolkata Police Court Request

Kolkata Police asked a court to permit voice sample collection from two arrested suspects.
Investigators gathered three to four audio and video clips to compare with the suspects’ voices.
Police recorded statements from about 60 witnesses, including the 25 injured.
Arrests include puja treasurer Sanjib Raha and announcer Kushal Majumdar, bringing detainees to nine.
The Chorbagan Durga Puja stampede on October 17, 2026 killed 19 and injured 25.

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