Kolkata puja pandal stampede kills 19; West Bengal announces SIT, opposition seeks accountability
Nineteen people died in a stampede at the Chorebagan Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata; Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced a judge-led SIT, and the Trinamool Congress questioned the organisers' links.
At least 19 people died and about 25 were injured in a stampede at the Chorebagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata at around 7.30 pm on Saturday, 17 October 2026, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari told reporters, as reported by Hindustan Times. On Sunday, 18 October, the state government announced a judge-led inquiry while the opposition Trinamool Congress questioned the puja committee’s links to the ruling party. This report relies on news coverage; official statements and court filings were not directly accessible.
What happened
Crowds were moving through a narrow bylane on Saptami, the seventh day of the festival, while rain left the streets slippery, Hindustan Times reported. Eyewitnesses told the newspaper that people seeking cover from the rain rushed towards the pandal and fell over one another within seconds. The Indian Express quoted the Chief Minister as saying he had been briefed that an announcement by the organisers on loudspeakers preceded the incident. Hindustan Times reported a mic warning that the pandal would collapse; the cause is yet to be established by investigators.
The toll was first reported as 17 or 18 and later rose to 19, Adhikari said: 17 were declared dead at Calcutta Medical College and Hospital, a child died at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and a woman died on the way to a private hospital. Two of the dead were from Muzaffarpur in Bihar, and some families lost more than one member, he said.
Official response
Police registered an FIR under sections 105 and 110 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and seized CCTV footage. Seven people have been arrested, among them the puja organiser and members of the security agency and event management company, Hindustan Times reported.
Adhikari said the state would ask the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to appoint a sitting judge to head a Special Investigation Team. He announced a government job and ₹25 lakh for the next of kin of each person killed and ₹5 lakh for each injured person, with the state bearing medical costs. He also formed a committee led by Principal Secretary (Disaster Management) Rajesh Sinha, with the Director General of Fire Services Anuj Sharma and Additional Director General of Police Javed Shamim, to review crowd management, exit routes and structural safety at major pandals. Several other crowded pandals, including Chetla Agrani and Tala Prottay, were shut by police.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the stampede “extremely distressing” in a post on X, and the Prime Minister’s Office announced ex-gratia from the PMNRF. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said he had spoken to the Chief Minister; Hindustan Times reported that he was in Kolkata and was likely to visit the injured on Sunday. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi expressed condolences and called for a fair probe.
Political reaction
The Mamata All India Trinamool Congress said the committee’s earlier members had been replaced after the BJP formed the state government in May, and alleged links between the new committee and the Chief Minister’s nephew, Debdeep Adhikari. Hindustan Times reported that the party also alleged involvement of the BJP’s north Kolkata unit president, Tamoghna Ghosh, in the pandal arrangements. These are allegations by the party; no evidence was presented in the coverage reviewed, and the Chief Minister’s office had not responded to them in the reports seen. Chorebagan falls in the Jorasanko Assembly constituency, which the BJP’s Ojha won in May.
What happens next
The SIT’s composition depends on the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice’s nomination. The pandal safety committee is expected to recommend guidelines for puja organisers, according to Hindustan Times.
Perspectives
Listed in no particular order and given equal space. Inclusion is not endorsement.
The state government and the BJP say
- Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the committee had taken the required permissions from Kolkata Police, the fire brigade and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, and that action would be taken against anyone found to have been lax, including club volunteers, home guards, police personnel and security agencies.
- BJP spokesperson and MLA Ritesh Tiwari said he did not know whether any relative of the Chief Minister was linked to the committee, and added that leaders of both parties have been associated with community pujas.
- Jorasanko MLA Ojha, who chairs the new committee, said the Chief Minister had ordered an inquiry.
The Trinamool Congress says
- Kolkata MLA Kunal Ghosh said the stampede was a failure of the administration and of the puja committee, and called for the organisers’ arrest and an impartial investigation.
- MAITC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee alleged links between the committee and the Chief Minister’s nephew, and asked when the nephew would be arrested.
- Ghosh also posted a purported resignation letter from the committee’s earlier members, alleging they were forced out after the BJP came to power in May. Hindustan Times said it could not independently verify the letter.
Sources
- Kolkata stampede: Adhikari announces SIT headed by sitting High Court judge, seven arrested — Hindustan Times
- Opposition targets West Bengal BJP government over Kolkata puja pandal stampede — Hindustan Times
- Bengal CM forms high-level panel to review safety at Durga Puja pandals after 19 die at Chorbagan stampede — Hindustan Times
- Kolkata Chorebagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja Pandal stampede: What we know so far — The Indian Express
- PM Modi announces Rs 2 lakh ex gratia for families of Kolkata Durga Puja stampede victims — The Indian Express
