19 killed, over 25 injured in stampede at Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata's Chorbagan

Nineteen people died in a stampede inside a Durga Puja pandal in the Chorbagan area of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal. More than 25 people were injured. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari called it an unfortunate incident.

The incident took place at 7.40 pm on Saturday in the Girish Park police station area. Kolkata Police took the injured to the medical college and hospital. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Adhikari are expected to visit the injured.

A 25-year-old man who lost his mother in the incident described the evening. He had gone to see the Durga Puja with his mother when heavy rain suddenly began. Because of the rain, nobody wanted to leave the pandal. People standing at the entrance pushed to get inside to avoid getting wet. Within moments the crowd grew so large that people inside began falling on one another.

The man said he was trapped under the crowd. When he somehow got out and reached the spot where his mother had been, she was not there. He said: "I saw my mother die before my eyes. Perhaps I would not have survived either."

Police have detained 12 people, including members of the puja organising committee, and have begun questioning them about the incident. Kolkata Police are also examining CCTV footage. The police personnel deployed at the spot will also be questioned.

Chief Minister Adhikari has announced a special investigation team (SIT), to function under the supervision of a Calcutta High Court judge, to probe the incident. Other pandals in Kolkata will also be inspected after the incident. The state government has announced assistance of Rs 25 lakh to the relatives of the dead.

According to the information so far, 19 people have died and more than 25 are injured. Police will look at the arrangements at the pandal and the crowd-management system in the investigation, as both the organising committee members and the police personnel deployed there are to be questioned.