The officer-in-charge of Kolkata’s Girish Park police station has been replaced a day after a stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin puja pandal killed 19 people and injured 25, according to a report by Anandabazar – Kolkata. Detective department officer Hirak Dalpati has been given additional responsibility for the station from Sunday.
The Girish Park police station falls under Kolkata Police’s Central Division, and the Chorbagan Sarbojanin pandal is located within its jurisdiction. Sumit Kumar Ghosh had served as the station’s officer-in-charge since March. The report said he was removed from the post after the incident, while Dalpati was assigned to take charge in addition to his existing duties in the detective department.
There has been no official statement explaining the reason for Ghosh’s replacement. The report, citing his colleagues, said Ghosh had fallen ill after visiting the accident site at Chorbagan on Saturday. It did not establish whether the administrative change was formally linked to the crowd-control incident.
The stampede took place on Saturday evening, during Saptami, as visitors arrived at the puja venue. Witnesses and a large number of visitors alleged that the police and administration had not managed the crowd properly and that police personnel and security staff reached the site late after the incident. The reported death toll is 19, with 25 people injured.
Chief Minister and state police minister Shubhendu Adhikari said the police had performed their duties, according to the report. He also said that allegations of negligence would be investigated. The report did not provide details of the investigation’s terms, timeline or agency.
Dalpati was part of the special investigation team formed after workers died when an under-construction warehouse collapsed in Taratala. He is currently posted in the detective department. His appointment at Girish Park brings an officer with experience in that investigation into temporary operational responsibility for a police station managing one of the city’s busiest festival periods.
The reported change came as Kolkata Police increased arrangements for handling the Durga Puja crowds. Several senior police officers were brought back temporarily to the force, including at least nine Indian Police Service officers with experience in managing festival crowds in Kolkata, the report said. Their deployment was intended to strengthen crowd-management arrangements across the city.
Lalbazar also sent an 11-point guideline to all Kolkata police stations on preventing untoward incidents at major puja venues. The instructions include closing pandal entrances when rain begins, safely moving visitors already inside out of the structure, preventing gatherings inside the pandal and ensuring adequate lighting.
The guidelines further state that officers and police personnel on duty should not leave their assigned positions during rain and should carry raincoats where necessary. Police stations have also been instructed to regulate entry according to conditions and prevent vehicles carrying special visitors from reaching the pandal. Such vehicles are to be stopped at a specified distance from the venue.
The report did not state when the investigation into the Chorbagan incident would be completed or whether further administrative action would follow. Hirak Dalpati’s additional charge at Girish Park is currently the immediate change reported after the stampede.
