A court in Kolkata on Sunday remanded seven people arrested in connection with the stampede at a Durga Puja pandal in Chorbagan to 10 days of police custody. The police had sought a 14-day remand.
Seven arrested, including Puja committee office-bearers
First, precious lives have been lost,” he said. Referring to the measures announced by the Chief Minister, Banerjee added that he might agree or disagree with the government’s actions, but insisted that political scrutiny should not take priority at this stage. The bodies of those killed in the stampede were handed over to their families on Sunday.
He claimed they had stepped in to help people caught in the heavy crowd. “We informed the court that these individuals were outsiders; they had come to witness the Durga Puja celebrations. Kolkata Police have arrested seven people in connection with the stampede. Those arrested include Raj Kumar Sewda, alias Raja, the secretary of the Puja committee; Santanu Dubey, its vice-president; and Biplab Mukherjee, alias Joy, who was involved in constructing a bamboo structure at the venue. The other accused are Koushik Saha, who was responsible for crowd management and checking VIP passes; Pintu Dey, who was engaged in crowd management; and Suman Chakraborty and Rajesh Pal, who were working as private security in-charges. West Bengal Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee urged political parties to refrain from politicising the tragedy, stressing that the loss of lives should take precedence over political disputes. “There can be a political post-mortem, but that must happen later. Congress leader Suman Roy Chowdhury called for an impartial investigation into the incident and demanded the arrest of those responsible. He alleged that police deployment at the Chorbagan pandal had been inadequate, claiming that personnel were occupied with escorting BJP leaders instead of performing their primary duties. “Instead of performing their primary duty, the police in Bengal are occupied with everything else. When a prominent BJP leader arrives from Delhi, the police follow them around; they are constantly trailing various leaders here in Kolkata. He also demanded the arrest of all those responsible for organising the event. An investigation by the Special Task Force (STF) has also been initiated to establish accountability for the incident. The investigation is expected to examine the circumstances surrounding the deadly crowd surge at the pandal, as police pursue the case against the seven arrested individuals and continue their inquiry into the tragedy. (with ANI inputs)
The stampede occurred on Saturday evening amid a massive rush of devotees at the pandal, claiming 19 lives and leaving several others injured. He said the court had granted police custody until October 28, although investigators had sought custody until November 1. Police have registered a suo motu case against the organisers and others under Sections 105, 110 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, has also been imposed in parts of Kolkata from October 18 to 20 to prevent possible disturbances. The West Bengal government has announced compensation of Rs 25 lakh and a job for the family of each person killed in the stampede.
Upon observing the heavy crowding, where many people were in distress, they stepped in to assist with rescue efforts,” Raheman told news agency ANI. “The police had requested custody until the 1st, but the judge granted it until the 28th,” he added. Fourteen other people were detained for questioning, police said. Banerjee said some sections of the political establishment had reacted aggressively in the immediate aftermath of the incident. he said any political assessment should wait until later While he acknowledged that the government’s response could be examined. Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy described the stampede as “very painful” and “heartbreaking”. He said the Prime Minister had responded immediately and extended assistance to the families of those injured. “Everybody should be cautious in organising all these kinds of functions,” Kumaraswamy said. There was an inadequate police presence in Chorbagan,” he told ANI. Chowdhury said a complaint had been lodged over the alleged lack of police personnel at the venue. “We demand that the Kolkata Police arrest all those responsible within the next 72 hours,” he said.
The accused were produced before the Bankshall Court, where defence lawyer MD Yashim Raheman argued that they were outsiders who had come to witness the Durga Puja celebrations.
Young children have lost their lives. Because we have lost our fellow citizens, “I saw that the roads were comparatively empty.
Most importantly, this is not a time for any political blame game,” he told ANI.
