Durga Puja pandal stampede in Kolkata kills at least 19
A tragic stampede at a Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata on Saturday, October 17, 2026, left at least 19 people dead and 25 injured.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced that a Special Investigation Team would investigate what went wrong, with the state government writing to the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice to nominate a sitting Calcutta High Court judge to head the SIT.
West Bengal offers ₹25L, ₹5L relief
To support those affected, the state is giving ₹25 lakh and a Group D government job to the family of each person who died. Injured survivors will get ₹5 lakh plus free medical care.
The government is also reviewing CCTV footage for crowd management issues, has advised popular pandals to temporarily close to prevent more incidents, and detained some puja committee members, private security guards, and personnel on duty as part of the investigation.