The investigation into the Chorabagan pandal incident has moved to a forensic reconstruction of the venue, with Kolkata Police investigators and forensic specialists documenting the structure, surrounding area and crowd movement routes before the pandal is dismantled.
A six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by an Assistant Commissioner from the Detective Department, returned to the site on Thursday to examine how the pandal was designed and arranged. Investigators are focusing on the width of the entry and exit routes, the internal layout and the sequence of events during the incident.
The forensic team followed the SIT and used three-dimensional cameras to scan the entire pandal and adjoining areas. The scan is intended to preserve a detailed record of the venue for further examination after the temporary structure is removed. Investigators are also collecting necessary samples before dismantling begins, as the site is not expected to remain in place for an extended period.
The SIT had previously visited Chorabagan and examined closed-circuit television footage. On Saturday, its members questioned civic volunteers and club members who were present at the pandal during the incident in an effort to reconstruct what happened. The team analysed the information gathered during those inquiries before returning to the site on Thursday.
Police and forensic specialists are also reviewing videos circulated on social media, although Anandabazar.com said it had not independently verified those recordings. One video appears to show several visitors falling ill on a grilled, spiral walkway, while another appears to show people falling amid heavy pushing and crowding between the exit gate and a point 8 to 10 metres inside the pandal. The footage also appears to show people shouting in panic and a police officer repeatedly attempting to make a phone call.
Investigators are examining whether an announcement made during the incident intensified the crowd movement. Witnesses told Anandabazar.com that, amid the emergency and confusion, someone announced over the public-address system that the pandal was collapsing and urged people to leave quickly. According to the report, the announcement may have triggered further panic and hurried movement. Investigators have indicated that seized CCTV footage supports that sequence of events, while continuing to examine what additional information it may reveal.
The inquiry comes as police assess the relationship between the temporary structure, the available movement space and the behaviour of the crowd during the incident. The dimensions of access routes, the location of gates and the way emergency information was communicated are central to that assessment. These details will be compared with the physical evidence preserved through the forensic scan and the accounts collected by the SIT.
Seven people, including two office-bearers of the puja committee, have already been arrested in connection with the incident. The investigation is continuing, and the authorities are expected to rely on the site documentation, CCTV footage, video examination, witness questioning and forensic samples as they work to establish the full sequence of events.
