Kolkata stampede: seven arrested as police register culpable homicide case

Kolkata Police have arrested seven people, including office-bearers of the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durgotsab Samity committee, and registered a suo motu case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Sections 105, 110 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, following the stampede police said killed 19 people and injured 25.

Those arrested on Sunday are committee secretary Raj Kumar Sewda alias Raja (48), vice-president Santanu Dubey (55), bamboo-structure builder Biplab Mukherjee alias Joy (48), crowd-management staff Koushik Saha (53) and Pintu Dey (51), and private security in-charges Suman Chakraborty (30) and Rajesh Pal (29). Fourteen more were detained for questioning; a forensic team visited the pandal on Saturday night, and police are examining CCTV footage.

Police Commissioner Ajay Nand imposed Section 163 BNSS prohibitory orders for three days, October 18–20, in the Bowbazar area (College Street, CR Avenue, Collotola Street and Eden Hospital Road bounds), banning assemblies of five or more people.

The state government has announced Rs 25 lakh ex-gratia plus a government job for the next of kin of each deceased person, and Rs 5 lakh for each injured person, and ordered a Special Investigation Team probe. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said he and Union Home Minister Amit Shah would visit the injured in hospital on Sunday morning, and that the state had cancelled all events associated with the ongoing Durga Puja festival. Police helpline: 1800 345 5678.

The stampede struck the north Kolkata pandal on Maha Saptami evening amid heavy rain and a sudden crowd surge.

Sources: The Economic Times live blog, The Economic Times: 7 arrested, culpable homicide case, The News Mill, Asianet Newsable, Republic World, Siasat (PTI)