Kolkata stampede: Accused was told to announce pandal collapse, then go underground, wife claims

Kolkata: In a major revelation in connection with the Kolkata Durga Puja pandal stampede that killed 19 devotees, the wife of the second accused arrested in the case has alleged that her husband was instructed by senior officials of the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja committee to announce that the pandal had collapsed.

She also claimed that her husband, Babu Majumdar, alias Kushal alias Kalia, was advised to go underground until October 27 after the tragedy.

Babu Majumdar was arrested by the Kolkata police on Friday morning for allegedly making the misleading announcement that triggered panic among devotees at the North Kolkata pandal on the night of October 17.

Babu's wife, Koel Majumdar, made the allegations against a section of the organising committee's officials while speaking to the media soon after his arrest.

“My husband is an app-cab driver by profession and has been associated with Chorbagan Sarbojanin for a long time. Our house at Amar Bose Lane is very close to the pandal. After the stampede took a serious turn, a section of the Puja organising committee advised my husband to go absconding and remain underground till October 27. Otherwise, he wanted to surrender to the police on the night of the tragedy itself,” Koel said.

She claimed that although her husband had been associated with Chorbagan Sarbojanin for nearly 18 years, he had never been entrusted with the task of making public announcements during Durga Puja because he was not particularly good at verbal communication.

“At the time of the incident, he was instructed by senior officials of the organising committee to announce that the pandal had collapsed. He made the announcement believing that the danger could increase,” she alleged.

Koel further alleged that her husband contacted her the following morning and informed her that some senior officials of the Puja committee had advised him to remain underground until October 27.

“However, he had constantly been suffering from a feeling of remorse and repentance,” she added.

Meanwhile, police sources said Babu had returned home briefly after the tragedy but later left, leaving his mobile phone behind.

Babu is the second person arrested in connection with the alleged misleading announcement. On Thursday, the Kolkata Police arrested Sanjib Raha, alias Sentu, the treasurer of the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja organising committee, who is the prime accused in the case.

The announcement was made when chaos had already gripped the pandal because of the rain. People waiting outside were attempting to enter, while those inside were reluctant to leave because of the weather.

Amid the confusion, an announcement warning that the pandal had collapsed and asking devotees to evacuate immediately triggered panic. People rushed towards the exits, with some moving towards the entrance to get out, eventually leading to the deadly stampede.

The tragedy claimed 19 lives and left several others injured, prompting a police investigation into the circumstances that led to the crowd surge and the role of those responsible for the announcement.

So far, nine people have been arrested in connection with the stampede. The police are investigating the sequence of events and the alleged roles of the Puja organisers in the incident.

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