Kolkata Durga Puja stampede: Bengal forms 6-member judicial probe panel
Synopsis
Nineteen people died in a crowd surge at a Kolkata Durga Puja pandal on 17 October — and the West Bengal government's attempt to seat a sitting High Court judge to lead the inquiry hit a Supreme Court-mandated wall. The result: a six-member SIT headed by a retired judge, with three months to deliver findings that could reshape crowd-safety rules for Bengal's largest public gatherings.
Key Takeaways
West Bengal announced a six-member judicial probe panel on 21 October 2026 to investigate the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal stampede.
The stampede on the night of 17 October in Kolkata claimed 19 lives .
Retired judge Justice Anindita Roy Saraswati will chair the panel, after the Calcutta High Court cited a Supreme Court order barring appointment of serving judges to commissions.
The panel — referred to as an SIT — must submit its report to the state government within three months .
Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal issued the order, directing all departments and agencies to cooperate fully with the inquiry.
The West Bengal government on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, announced the formation of a six-member judicial probe panel to investigate the deadly stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin community Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata on the night of 17 October, which claimed 19 lives. The panel's constitution follows a back-and-forth with the Calcutta High Court over whether a serving judge could lead the inquiry.
Composition of the Probe Panel
According to the order issued by West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal, the judicial probe panel will be chaired by Justice Anindita Roy Saraswati (retired). The remaining five members include the Principal Secretary of the State Disaster Management and Civil Defence department, the Director General of the Special Task Force (STF) of the state police, an Additional Director General-rank officer from the state police, a Joint Secretary-level representative from the State Home and Hill Affairs department, and a representative from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in Kolkata.
The panel is also authorised to recommend inducting additional officers as needed to fulfil its mandate, according to the order.
Scope and Timeline of the Inquiry
The probe panel — referred to in the order as a Special Investigation Team (SIT) — has been directed to examine all relevant matters surrounding the stampede and undertake further inquiry as necessary. All departments, agencies, and individuals have been instructed to extend 'full cooperation' and provide records and information as required.
The panel must submit its findings and recommendations to the state government within three months from the date of the order. The order takes immediate effect, according to the official notification.
High Court Intervention and Retired-Judge Compromise
Immediately after the tragedy, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had expressed his preference for the panel to be headed by a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court. A formal request was accordingly sent from the Chief Secretary's office to the office of Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge.
However, on Tuesday, Chief Justice Ghuge informed the state government that a prior Supreme Court order bars the appointment of serving judges to any commission of inquiry. The state was therefore advised to select a retired judge of its own choice — a process that concluded with the nomination of Justice Anindita Roy Saraswati, nearly a day before Wednesday's formal announcement.
Background: The Chorbagan Pandal Stampede
The tragedy unfolded on the night of 17 October at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal, one of the community celebrations in north-central Kolkata that draw large crowds during the festival. The stampede, which killed 19 people, prompted immediate calls for accountability and a structured investigation into crowd management failures. This incident adds to a pattern of crowd-surge tragedies at large public gatherings in India, renewing pressure on authorities to enforce stricter crowd-control protocols at religious and cultural events.
What Happens Next
With the probe panel now constituted and Justice Roy Saraswati named as chairperson, the SIT is expected to begin recording evidence, examining eyewitnesses, and reviewing crowd management procedures in the coming weeks. Its report, due within three months, is likely to form the basis for any remedial action, including possible regulatory changes for large public gatherings in West Bengal.
Point of View
But the sequence reveals a telling delay: nineteen people died on 17 October, yet the state spent nearly four days navigating a High Court-Supreme Court procedural hurdle before constituting the inquiry body. That gap matters. The three-month reporting window is reasonable, but the real test will be whether the SIT's recommendations — on crowd density limits, barrier design, and event-permission protocols — are implemented or shelved, as has happened after previous mass-casualty events at Indian public gatherings. West Bengal hosts some of the largest religious congregations in South Asia; without binding regulatory follow-through, probe reports risk becoming bureaucratic exercises in documentation rather than prevention.
NationPress
21 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata?
A stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin community Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata on the night of 17 October 2026 claimed 19 lives. The tragedy occurred amid large crowds gathered for one of the city's prominent Durga Puja celebrations.
Who will lead the West Bengal judicial probe panel?
Retired judge Justice Anindita Roy Saraswati will chair the six-member judicial probe panel. She was nominated after the Calcutta High Court declined to depute a sitting judge, citing a Supreme Court order barring serving judges from being appointed to inquiry commissions.
Why couldn't a sitting High Court judge head the probe?
Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge informed the state government that a prior Supreme Court order bars the appointment of serving judges to any commission of inquiry, making it necessary for the state to select a retired judge of its own choice.
What is the deadline for the probe panel's report?
The panel, designated as an SIT, is required to submit its findings and recommendations to the West Bengal government within three months from the date of the order issued on 21 October 2026.
Who are the other members of the six-member probe panel?
The other five members are the Principal Secretary of the State Disaster Management and Civil Defence department, the Director General of the STF of the state police, an Additional Director General-rank state police officer, a Joint Secretary-level representative from the State Home and Hill Affairs department, and a representative from the NDRF in Kolkata.
