Chorbagan stampede: Footage from 16 of 32 CCTV cameras unavailable, police probe surveillance gaps

Kolkata Police have been unable to retrieve footage from 16 of the 32 CCTV cameras installed at and around the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal, where a crowd crush on October 17 killed 19 people and left 25 others injured. Investigators are making efforts to recover the missing recordings, which could help reconstruct the sequence of events that led to the tragedy.

“There were around 32 CCTVs installed in and around the puja pandal. We could not find the footage from 16 of those,” a senior police officer said on Monday, adding that the recordings were needed to establish how the crowd surge occurred and what triggered it.

The tragedy was allegedly triggered by a loudspeaker announcement that the pandal was collapsing, prompting panic among visitors. Investigators are examining the announcement and the movement of people through the venue to establish how the situation escalated.

Pandal designer, 12 police personnel summoned

Police have summoned pandal designer Sushanta Shibani Pal to Lalbazar, the Kolkata Police headquarters, by Wednesday. Investigators will question him about the pandal’s design and construction, visitor arrangements and the layout intended to facilitate crowd movement.

Twelve police personnel deployed at the venue on the night of the incident have also been called for questioning. Investigators are examining their roles, particularly those stationed outside the pandal and near its entry and exit points.

Three eyewitnesses were summoned to Lalbazar on Monday to record their statements.

Police have arrested nine people in connection with the incident and recorded statements from around 60 individuals. Those questioned include injured visitors, home guards, civic volunteers, private security personnel and local residents.

SIT to submit findings within three months

The West Bengal government has constituted a six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by retired Calcutta High Court judge Anindita Roy Saraswati, to investigate the disaster. The panel has been directed to submit its findings and recommendations within three months.

The probe will examine possible structural deficiencies, crowd-management failures, entry and exit arrangements, the circumstances surrounding the announcement, a reported power disruption and the coordination among agencies responsible for the event.

The investigation covers the puja organisers and relevant authorities, including Kolkata Police, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Fire and Emergency Services and CESC.