Kolkata: Seven people, including organisers of the Chorebagan Sarbojanin Durga Utsav Committee, have been arrested in connection with the stampede during Durga Puja celebrations in West Bengal that claimed 19 lives. Those arrested include committee secretary Rajkumar Sewda, also known as Raja, 48, and vice-president Shantanu Dubey, 55. The state government has ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a probe into the incident.
Biplab Mukherjee, also known as Joy, 48, who was involved in bamboo structures used to display advertisements at the pandal, was also arrested. Kaushik Saha, 53, and Pintu Dey, 51, who were responsible for crowd management and checking VIP passes, are among those held. The other two arrested are Suman Chakraborty, 30, and Rajesh Pal, 29, who were assigned security duties. The death toll currently stands at 19, while 25 people were injured. One of the injured remains in critical condition.
The state government has announced compensation of 25 lakh and government jobs for the families of those who died in the tragedy. Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited a hospital in Kolkata and met those undergoing treatment. He also visited the Kalighat Kali Temple along with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Adhikari said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked the Chief Secretary to submit a detailed report on the incident. The Prime Minister has also announced assistance and compensation for families affected by the tragedy, the Chief Minister said. He added that the Union and state governments were working in coordination in response to the incident.
