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West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said at least 17 people were killed in a stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata on Saturday evening. The incident took place around 7:40 p.m. when heavy rain prompted a large crowd to rush for cover, triggering commotion after an announcement and resulting in people pushing and falling at the narrow exit gate, a senior police official told AFP. Among the dead was a seven-year-old girl, with six bodies identified so far, Adhikari added after visiting the scene and the hospital where victims were taken.
Kolkata Police reported that approximately 25 to 35 injured individuals were transported to Calcutta Medical College and Hospital for treatment, where one was in critical condition. The force has seized CCTV footage from the area and initiated an investigation into potential failures in crowd management, according to the Press Trust of India. Eyewitnesses described narrow, poorly lit entry and exit points as factors that worsened the situation amid the swelling weekend crowds.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences to the bereaved families and announced ex-gratia payments of 200,000 rupees to next of kin of the deceased and 50,000 rupees to the injured, his office stated. Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured that all possible medical facilities were being provided, while President Droupadi Murmu and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also conveyed their sympathies. The pandal was immediately closed to the public, with police, fire services and disaster management teams deployed to the site.
Durga Puja, the annual festival honoring the Hindu goddess Durga, draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to elaborately decorated pandals across West Bengal each year. This year’s celebrations began on October 16, with the stampede occurring on the third day known as Maha Saptami. The event at Chorbagan is one of the prominent community pujas in central Kolkata, according to local media coverage.
Incidents of deadly crowd crushes at religious and public events are not uncommon in India, where large gatherings frequently strain infrastructure and organizational capacities. In 2024, 121 people lost their lives in a stampede during a Hindu religious gathering in Uttar Pradesh, according to authorities cited across multiple reports. Additional cases last year included 30 deaths at the Kumbh Mela and 11 at a cricket victory celebration in Bengaluru, as documented by The Straits Times.
Some organizers of the Chorbagan pandal have been detained for questioning as part of the probe into the tragedy, Chief Minister Adhikari indicated in statements to reporters. Witnesses recounted scenes of chaos with scattered footwear and people attempting to assist those who had fallen. Authorities urged caution at other pandals, leading several to close temporarily as a precautionary measure.
