Chorbagan stampede revives 2015 rumours: What really happened at Kolkata’s Deshapriya Park?

Kolkata: Rumours claiming that people died in a stampede-like incident at Kolkata’s Deshapriya Park during Durga Puja in 2015 have resurfaced following the fatal mishap at Chorbagan Sarbojanin in, North Kolkata, on Saturday, October 17, 2026.

However, contemporaneous news reports from October 2015 documented injuries and suffocation complaints, but did not report any deaths in the incident.

An examination of archived reports by The Indian Express and The Times of India establishes that the Deshapriya Park incident was a serious crowd-control failure.

However, the available contemporary coverage does not support claims that it resulted in fatalities while the Chorbagan stampede killed 19 people and injured at least 25 others.

What happened at Deshapriya Park in 2015?

On October 18, 2015, thousands of people descended on Deshapriya Park in south Kolkata to see an 88-foot Durga idol, which organisers had promoted as the tallest in the world.

The massive turnout began even before the Durga Puja celebrations officially commenced. 

As the crowd swelled, people jostled for a glimpse of the idol. Some fell amid the crush, triggering panic.

Eleven people were injured, while several others complained of suffocation, including children and elderly visitors, according to reports published the following day.

The situation also caused severe traffic congestion across south Kolkata. Roads around Deshapriya Park became clogged, and the rush was so intense that Kolkata Police Commissioner Surajit Kar Purkayastha had to travel by Metro before walking to the site.

Police subsequently stopped public entry to the pandal. The commissioner acknowledged that the authorities had not anticipated the scale of the crowd and that the organisers had not planned adequately for the turnout.

The closure was not temporary. On October 19, the police announced that the pandal would remain closed to visitors for the rest of the festival.

Despite the restrictions, people kept arriving, hoping they could see the idol. Days later, the organisers decided to dismantle the giant idol and hand it over to the government.

Archived reports published by The Indian Express on October 19 and 20, 2015, and The Times of India on October 19, 2015, document these developments.  None of these reports record a death in the Deshapriya Park incident. 

How was Chorbagan different in 2026?

The crowd crush at Chorbagan Sarbojanin turned a familiar challenge during Kolkata’s Durga Puja into a fatal tragedy. The incident occurred amid heavy rain and a surge of visitors at the north Kolkata pandal.

According to the police’s preliminary findings, investigators identified several potential contributing factors, including narrow lanes, a single exit, inexperienced volunteers, dropped crowd-control ropes, and announcements that may have triggered panic.

These details are part of the ongoing investigation, and responsibility for the incident remains to be established.

The death toll rose to 19, while dozens of people were injured. Kolkata Police arrested seven people in connection with the case, including office-bearers of the Puja committee and personnel involved in crowd control.

A case was registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to culpable homicide and common intent.

The contrast is clear: In 2015, Kolkata Police shut the Deshapriya Park Durga Puja pandal after a crowd surge left 11 people injured. In contrast, the Chorbagan stampede in October 2026 claimed 19 lives and left at least 25 people injured.

Police have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident, including alleged lapses in crowd management and safety arrangements.

Fact-check conclusion: The claim that people died in the 2015 Deshapriya Park incident is not supported by the contemporaneous reports reviewed. Those reports recorded 11 injuries and subsequent police action, but no fatalities.

This finding reflects a conclusion based on available published coverage, not a substitute for an official casualty register.

The 2015 incident was a serious warning about crowd safety, while the 2026 Chorbagan tragedy has brought the consequences of crowd-management failures into devastating focus.