Kolkata Durga Puja crowd crush kills 19; special investigation ordered
Nineteen people died in a crowd crush at Kolkata’s Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal on October 17 night; 25 people were receiving treatment.
Context image: Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata in 2019. It does not show the October 17, 2026 incident. Photo: Tarunsamanta / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; unmodified.
October 18, 2026 | India / West Bengal
Nineteen people died in a crowd crush at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal near Girish Park in north Kolkata on Saturday night, October 17. The state government said 25 people were receiving treatment.
What happened
According to the police’s initial account, the crowd near the exit moved at once when rain began. Some worshippers fell on the road, triggering the crush. Investigators are still examining the cause and any crowd-control or safety failures.
- Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced a Special Investigation Team led by a High Court judge.
- Police detained pandal organisers, private security personnel and on-duty staff for questioning.
- Authorities ordered checks of crowd management, exit routes and structural safety at major Durga Puja venues.
Relief announced
News on AIR reported that the West Bengal government announced ₹25 lakh and a government job for each bereaved family. Reuters reported that the Prime Minister’s Office announced ₹2 lakh from the PM’s relief fund for the next of kin of each person killed and ₹50,000 for each injured person.
Image note: Context photograph of the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal taken in 2019. It does not show the October 17, 2026 incident. Photo: Tarunsamanta / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; unmodified.
