Kolkata: The Bankshal Court on Sunday remanded seven individuals arrested in connection with the fatal Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal stampede to police custody for 10 days. The police had originally requested a 14-day remand.

Defence counsel MD Yashim Raheman said that his clients were visitors rather than organisers, stating, “We informed the court that these individuals were outsiders; they had come to witness the Durga Puja celebrations. Upon observing the heavy crowding--where many people were in distress--they stepped in to assist with rescue efforts… Regarding the police custody (PC), the court has granted it until the 28th. Everyone has been remanded to police custody until the 28th. The police had requested custody until the 1st, but the judge granted it until the 28th.”
 

The tragedy unfolded on Saturday evening when an overwhelming surge of devotees led to a crush that claimed 19 lives and left multiple people injured. By Sunday, authorities completed the handover of the victims' bodies to their grieving families.

Political reactions to the disaster swept across party lines on Sunday. West Bengal Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee cautioned against immediate political point-scoring, telling ANI, “I saw that the roads were comparatively empty because we have lost our fellow citizens. Young children have lost their lives. Most importantly, this is not a time for any political blame game. It is very unfortunate that after such an incident, certain sections of the political establishment came out with everything blazing... We categorically said yesterday that this is not a time for a blame game. There can be a political post-mortem, but that must happen later. First, precious lives have been lost... Chief Minister has stated what measures have been taken. I may agree or disagree, but the political post-mortem needs to wait.”

Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy termed the event “very painful” and “heartbreaking”, highlighting that the Prime Minister responded swiftly with relief support, adding, “Everybody should be cautious in organising all these kinds of functions.”

Conversely, Congress leader Suman Roy Chowdhury alleged severe security lapses and demanded a swift, impartial probe, asserting, “Instead of performing their primary duty, the police in Bengal are occupied with everything else. When a prominent BJP leader arrives from Delhi, the police follow them around. They are constantly trailing various leaders here in Kolkata. There was an inadequate police presence in Chorbagan.

"We have lodged a complaint regarding this, and we demand the unconditional arrest of all portfolio holders of the Puja Committee... We demand that the Kolkata Police arrest all those responsible within the next 72 hours.”

Kolkata Police registered a suo motu case under Sections 105, 110 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the organisers and related personnel. Among the seven remanded are Puja Committee Secretary Raj Kumar Sewda (alias Raja), vice-president Santanu Dubey, bamboo structure builder Biplab Mukherjee (alias Joy), crowd control and VIP pass handlers Koushik Saha and Pintu Dey, and private security heads Suman Chakraborty and Rajesh Pal.

An additional 14 individuals have been detained for interrogation.

To prevent civil unrest, authorities invoked Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, across sensitive parts of Kolkata from October 18 to 20.

A Special Task Force (STF) investigation has been launched to fix administrative and structural accountability. Meanwhile, the West Bengal government announced an ex-gratia compensation of ₹25 lakh along with an employment offer for a family member of each deceased victim.
ANI