Nineteen killed in stampede at Kolkata's Durga Puja

At least nineteen people, among them women and children, were killed and twenty-five injured in a stampede at a Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata on Saturday evening. The crush began at around 7.40pm as crowds gathered at the pandal during rainfall, according to Kolkata Police.

The rain sent those waiting outside the temporary shrine rushing in for shelter. Then came an announcement, reported by the Indian Express, warning that the pandal might collapse if the crowd was not brought under control. The warning added to the confusion and triggered the sudden rush in which nineteen people died. The injured were taken to Kolkata Medical College and Hospital and other hospitals for treatment.

Police have registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and arrested seven people, among them the secretary and vice-president of the organising committee. Fourteen were detained for questioning on Saturday night, and police say more arrests could follow.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said surveillance camera footage would be examined and that anyone found responsible for failures in crowd control would face action. The state government will seek a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court to oversee a special investigation team, and the pandal has been closed to visitors and handed over to investigators and forensic teams.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced 200,000 rupees from his relief fund for the family of each person killed, and 50,000 for each injured person. The state will pay 2.5 million rupees to each bereaved family, a Group D government job for one family member, and 500,000 rupees plus medical costs to each of the injured. President Droupadi Murmu, home minister Amit Shah, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and former chief minister Mamata Banerjee expressed condolences.

The All India Trinamool Congress posted on X: "Never in our bloodline we have seen a stampede in #DurgaPuja & people dying!" Kolkata Police asked several of the city's major organisers — Tala Pratyay, Alipore Sarbojanin, Chetla Agrani and Ballygunge Sarbojanin — to close their pandals temporarily, with a review meeting scheduled for Sunday. Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita now bar gatherings of five or more people in parts of Bowbazar until Tuesday.

Also in custody are the two people who were in charge of security and the one responsible for the pandal's construction. The announcement that sent the crowd surging was a warning that it might not hold.