Kolkata. The death toll in the stampede that occurred on Saturday at Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, has increased to 19. 25 devotees were injured in this accident. There are 13 women among the dead. West Bengal CM Subhendu Adhikari was present at the spot till late night. He announced to give Rs 25 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Group D government job. Along with giving Rs 5 lakh each to the injured, they will also be treated in big hospitals. The accident will be investigated by the sitting judge of Calcutta High Court. Meanwhile, different facts have emerged regarding the accident that took place at the Chorbagan puja pandal located in the northern part of Kolkata.
According to the news of The Times of Newspaper, there was a huge crowd of people on Radha Madhav Saha Lane to go to Chorbagan Durga Puja Pandal. At the same time it started raining. It has been reported that the devotees standing outside tried to go inside the pandal to escape the rain. At the same time, there was a crowd in the pandal and there was a stampede on the stairs on the way out. At the same time, CM Shubhendu Adhikari had earlier told that the accident took place at Chorbagan Durga Puja Mandap after a misleading announcement by the Puja Committee and continuous whistling of the private security guards present there. Some local people told the newspaper that more policemen were deployed at the gate of the puja pandal which was built for VIPs.
At present the Chorbagan Durga Puja Mandap has been closed. All the people of the puja committee have been caught by the police. The police is investigating where the fault was. All the facts are expected to come out openly in the investigation by the SIT to be formed under the chairmanship of a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court. After this accident, CM Shubhendu Adhikari has also ordered an investigation of major Durga Puja pandals in all the districts of West Bengal including Kolkata. This investigation will be led by Rajesh Sinha, Principal Secretary, Disaster Management. Apart from him, Fire Service DG Anuj Sharma and DG Law and Order Javed Shamim have also been kept in the team.