The Chorebagan Durga idol was immersed without the usual celebrations on Saturday, after a stampede at the north Kolkata puja pandal killed 19 people and left the site under investigation. A section of the pandal had to be removed to take out the nearly 15-foot idol, while police and workers kept structural damage to a minimum pending the completion of a special investigation team probe.
The idol, seated on a lotus with a snake encircling it, was brought down with ropes tied around its arms and waist. Around three dozen workers pulled it through the pandal entrance, where thousands had gathered on October 17. The idol was eventually placed on a wheeled iron cart and transferred to a truck using the vehicle’s open tailgate as a ramp.
The immersion procession moved along Central Avenue under police escort. There were no dhakis, musical bands, lights or grand procession. Some residents walked silently in front of the vehicle carrying candles. A black banner mourning the deaths was placed at the front of a separate truck carrying the other idols, including the Asur.
Residents said traditional farewell rituals were not held before the idol left the pandal. “There was no traditional boron, no sindoor khela,” a woman in her early 60s told The Telegraph. She said a portion of the pandal had been removed to bring the idol onto the road and expressed hope that the deity would return the following year without any loss of life.
The pandal remains a scene of crime. The damage was limited because the structure cannot be tampered with until the SIT, headed by retired judge Anindita Roy Saraswati, completes its investigation. The fatal crowd surge occurred at the exit corridor after people rushed towards the entrance to escape heavy rain. Eyewitnesses have said that an allegedly incorrect announcement about the imminent collapse of part of the pandal triggered panic and contributed to the crush.
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the stampede, including three members of the puja committee and two alleged pandal announcers. One of the announcers, Kushal Majumdar, was arrested on Friday. A note purportedly signed by him and posted on his social media account claimed that the son of a club office-bearer had told him that part of the pandal was about to collapse, and that he made the announcement on the instructions of police personnel present at the site.
Investigators have said they will seek court permission to match the voice samples of the two alleged announcers with the audio of the collapse warning that has circulated on social media. The supplied report said there had been no move so far to question BJP leaders linked to the puja committee.
Police deployed additional personnel, including senior officers from Girish Park police station, to prevent disruption during the immersion. A senior police officer said the entire process had been recorded for future reference. At Nimtala Ghat, civic workers arranged a manual trolley to move the idol down the concrete ramp.
The immersion had to be completed by 7.30pm before low tide, the officer said. Police will submit a report on the completion of the process to the SIT.
