Kolkata: The city police told a local court the Chorbagan Sarbojonin Durga Puja stampede, which killed 19 people, lasted about three minutes.Police said the stampede happened when a false announcement about a “pandal collapse” was made at the same time that crowds were stuck near the exit during sudden rain. Around 90 witnesses, including 25 survivors, told cops the announcement coincided with the stampede.Investigators said the announcement was made by Kuntal Majumdar, an app-cab driver, when he was alone in the announcement area. Police are still checking whether the announcement came just before the stampede began.According to police, a large crowd of visitors, especially women, had gathered near the exit around 7.30 pm on Oct 17. When it started raining, many stopped near the gate to avoid getting wet. This caused crowd pressure to build up. Several people fell within about 11 ft of the exit.Police said there were not enough female volunteers at the exit to manage the crowd. They also said the organisers had been aware since Tritiya that crowds were increasing and that a stampede-like situation could happen. But they did not take enough action.Investigators are also looking into possible poor coordination between people managing the exit and entry areas. They are checking whether information about the blocked exit and crowd pressure reached the entry-side crowd managers quickly enough.Police are also examining the role of the private security agency hired by the puja committee. The agency had portable communication devices, and cops are checking where its staff were placed and whether they reported the situation in time.Police are also investigating why many CCTV cameras around the pandal allegedly malfunctioned. Thirty cameras were installed, and police seized two DVRs. One DVR was supposed to have footage from 14 cameras and the other from 16. But footage from only 13 cameras was recovered from one DVR.All nine arrested individuals were produced in Bankshall court, which sent them to further police custody until Oct 31.
