TMC Demands Accountability After Deadly Kolkata Durga Puja Stampede (Img: IANS)
New Delhi: The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) has demanded accountability after a stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in North Kolkata that claimed 19 lives and left 25 people injured. The incident took place on the evening of October 17 as a large number of devotees gathered at the venue.
In a series of posts on X, the AITC alleged links between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the organisers of the puja pandal. The party claimed that West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s nephew was associated with the puja committee and that a BJP MLA served as its chairman.
The AITC wrote: “Guess who is closely associated with the Chorebagan Puja Pandal? @SuvenduWB’s BHAIPO. A @BJP4Bengal MLA also happens to be the Chairman of this Puja Committee! Where is the accountability? Who is responsible for all these deaths? When will the CM, who clearly has NO SHAME, resign?!”
Will @KolkataPolice take any action against the first three names or are they being protected by the illegitimate CM himself?
Debdeep Adhikari - Chief Patron
NEPHEW OF @SuvenduWBVijay Ojha - Chairman
@BJP4Bengal MLATamoghna Ghosh - Chief Advisor
BJP District President, North KolkataAre they not equally responsible?
The CM himself inaugurated Chorebagan Puja Pandal - did he not look into security arrangements when he visited the pandal? Won’t he be held accountable for every single life lost?— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) October 18, 2026
The party also criticised the arrangements for Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Kolkata, questioning whether security arrangements for VIPs had taken precedence over public safety.
In another post, the AITC said: “A grand welcome for @AmitShah, while ordinary citizens are left fighting for their lives. What a shameful contrast! How can @BJP4India leaders celebrate while a tragedy unfolds and families grieve for their loved ones?”
A grand welcome for @AmitShah, while ordinary citizens are left fighting for their lives. What a shameful contrast!
How can @BJP4India leaders celebrate while a tragedy unfolds and families grieve for their loved ones? Where was the same urgency in protecting ordinary citizens?
Was the police deployment so heavily focused on Amit Shah’s security arrangements that crowd management and public safety were neglected?
Is this what the people of Bengal voted for - a system where one VIP receives elaborate security and a grand welcome, while the lives of ordinary Bengalis appear to count for so little?
Public safety must never be sacrificed at the altar of VIP culture. Accountability cannot be optional when lives are lost. When is @SuvenduWB getting his BHAIPO arrested?
— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) October 18, 2026
The AITC further questioned whether police deployment for Shah’s security had affected crowd management at the pandal.
The party asked: “Was the police deployment so heavily focused on Amit Shah’s security arrangements that crowd management and public safety were neglected? Is this what the people of Bengal voted for – a system where one VIP receives elaborate security and a grand welcome, while the lives of ordinary Bengalis appear to count for so little?”
Calling for action against those responsible, the party added: “Public safety must never be sacrificed at the altar of VIP culture. Accountability cannot be optional when lives are lost. When is @SuvenduWB getting his BHAIPO arrested?”
Following the incident, Shah and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari visited the injured at Apollo Hospital in Kolkata on October 18. Shah had earlier expressed condolences to the families of those killed and postponed his scheduled programmes to meet the injured.
Kolkata Police have arrested seven people in connection with the stampede. Those arrested include Raj Kumar Sewda, alias Raja, the puja committee’s secretary; Santanu Dubey, its vice-president; Biplab Mukherjee, alias Joy, who was involved in constructing the bamboo structures; Koushik Saha and Pintu Dey, who were handling crowd management; and Suman Chakraborty and Rajesh Pal, who were in charge of private security.
Police have registered a suo motu case against the organisers and others under Sections 105, 110 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Another 14 people have been detained for questioning.
Authorities have imposed restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, in parts of Kolkata from October 18 to 20 to prevent potential disturbances. The restrictions cover areas under Bowbazar Police Station and prohibit unlawful assemblies of five or more people, carrying weapons and activities that could disrupt public order.
The West Bengal government has announced compensation of Rs 25 lakh and a job for a family member of each person who died in the stampede. A Special Task Force has also begun an investigation to establish accountability, while the broader probe into the circumstances surrounding the incident remains underway.
Summary
Keywords
Kolkata Durga Puja stampede, Trinamool Congress, BJP, Suvendu Adhikari, Amit Shah, Chorbagan pandal, Kolkata Police, stampede investigation
Caption
TMC Demands Accountability After Deadly Kolkata Durga Puja Stampede
