Kolkata, Oct 18 (PTI) The Mamata All India Trinamool Congress launched a sharp attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and Kolkata Police over a stampede at a Durga Puja pandal that claimed 19 lives, bringing the name of the CM’s nephew Debdeep Adhikari, listed as chief patron of the Chorbagan Sarbojonin Durgotsab Samity, under the spotlight.
The opposition party questioned the preparedness of the authorities and alleged that inadequate crowd management, a lack of police presence and the absence of adequate emergency arrangements contributed to the tragedy at the popular Chorbagan pandal on Saturday evening.
In a series of posts on social media, the Mamata AITC alleged there were no adequate police personnel, civic volunteers or ambulances at the venue when the situation spiralled out of control.
It cited accounts of locals and eyewitnesses to question the security arrangements and the administration’s response.
“Where was the security and emergency response when people needed you most?” the party asked on its social media handles, targeting the Kolkata Police over the alleged lapses.
The party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee also questioned the alleged involvement of the chief minister’s nephew in the puja organising committee and demanded accountability from the ruling establishment.
Referring to the committee’s list of office-bearers, he asked, “When will you put the culprit nephew in jail, Suvendu Babu?”
In support of its claim, the party shared purported publicity material of the organising committee of the Chorbagan puja which listed Debdeep Adhikari as its chief patron, Vijay Ojha, the BJP MLA of the local Jorasanko constituency as the committee chairman and BJP’s North Kolkata district president Tamaghna Ghosh as its chief advisor.
It demanded that those connected with the event be held accountable.
Mamata AITC spokesperson and MLA Kunal Ghosh further alleged that the previous puja committee was “forced” to step down following the change of guard in power, and was “captured” by a new committee.
Ghosh posted on Facebook a letter, purportedly written by former puja secretary Jayanta Banerjee on July 17, tendering his resignation and relieving other committee members from their responsibilities.
“The previous committee in Chorbagan was allegedly forced to resign, following which a new set of people ‘captured’ the new committee. Take a look at the resignation letters of the former committee members and the list of members of the new committee,” Ghosh wrote, bringing the puja committee’s current leadership under scrutiny.
Acting on a suo motu case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder registered at the local Girish Park police station, law enforcers on Sunday arrested seven people, including the puja committee general secretary Raj Kumar Sewda and vice president Santanu Dubey.
Responding to a question on the alleged involvement of Debdeep Adhikari in the affairs of the Chorbagan Puja, BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya said he had no knowledge about the matter.
“To the best of my knowledge, the chief minister’s nephew is a minor and stays in Kanthi in Purba Medinipur district. How can he get involved in a Kolkata puja? I do not wish to indulge in politics over this tragedy. I am quite devastated at the scale of this horrible incident,” Bhattacharya told reporters on Saturday evening after visiting the spot where the stampede took place.
Adhikari, in a message on early Sunday morning, strongly condemned the attempts to politicise the tragedy and lashed out at critics, stating the entire top brass of the state police and administration was doing everything in its power to offer relief to the victims and their families.
“Without blaming anyone, I would say that last year there were two incidents, the first where 13 people died of electrocution in waterlogged areas and second, where over a hundred people were washed away in flash floods in the upper reaches of West Bengal. You had seen the role of the then chief minister at the time,” Adhikari said.
“I am not comparing them with the current tragedy, only saying this because things are being written on social media. I will ask them to refrain from making such comments. People will spit on you; if you keep doing it,” he added.
The stampede unfolded around 7.30-7.40 pm on Saturday, as a large crowd gathered at the pandal amid rainfall. The crush occurred near an exit and a narrow approach lane, with the sudden rush and people falling over one another triggering chaos. The exact sequence of events and the possible role of crowd-control failures are being investigated.
Adhikari, meanwhile, has announced a probe into the incident. Police detained organisers, private security personnel and others involved in managing the crowd for questioning, while investigators are examining possible lapses in security and the management of entry and exit routes.
The chief minister has also said he would request the Calcutta High Court chief justice to facilitate an inquiry led by a judge.
The state government has announced compensation of Rs 25 lakh and a government job for a member of each deceased person’s family, besides Rs 5 lakh for each injured person and coverage of their medical expenses.
The tragedy has cast a shadow over Durga Puja celebrations in the city, with the authorities moving to inspect other crowded pandals and review safety arrangements to prevent a recurrence. PTI SMY ACD
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