Kolkata Durga Puja stampede: BJP leaders grieve, Dilip Ghosh says puja must go on
Synopsis
A stampede at Kolkata's Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal on Saturday night has triggered prohibitory orders, a Special Investigation Team, and a rare national conversation about crowd safety at India's biggest religious gatherings — with BJP leaders divided between mourning and insisting the festival must go on.
Key Takeaways
A stampede struck the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in North Kolkata on Saturday night, 18 October 2026 .
Kolkata Police imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 BNSS, 2023 , banning assemblies near the site until 20 October .
West Bengal Chief Minister Shuvendu Adhikari ordered a special team to inspect security arrangements at major pandals across the city.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the stampede, with scrutiny on organisers and the security agency.
BJP leader Dilip Ghosh called for Durga Puja celebrations to continue while acknowledging the tragedy; BJP MP Kangana Ranaut urged the public to avoid overcrowded venues ahead of Dussehra and Diwali.
Rain reportedly worsened conditions at the pandal, contributing to the fatal crush, according to BJP leader Ram Kripal Yadav .
Several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders on Sunday, 18 October 2026, expressed grief over the deadly stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in North Kolkata, as the state administration imposed prohibitory orders and formed a special investigation team. West Bengal BJP leader Dilip Ghosh called for the celebrations to continue while stressing that such tragedies must not recur.
Dilip Ghosh's Remarks
Dilip Ghosh acknowledged that the government and Chief Minister Shuvendu Adhikari had already initiated action following the incident. He drew a distinction between institutional accountability and the continuation of religious observance, asserting that the two need not conflict.
'The government is fulfilling its responsibility, and the Chief Minister has made announcements. However, the worship is still ongoing and should not be stopped. Such incidents should not happen and must be kept in mind. Those who want to politicise this will do so. So much worship is happening everywhere, police are present, the entire system is functioning properly, and lakhs of people are roaming around on the streets. These things happen rarely, which is why it’s called an accident, but still, it shouldn’t have happened,' Ghosh said.
Crowd Management Failure Cited
West Bengal BJP leader Umesh Rai attributed the tragedy to a breakdown in crowd management at the pandal. He alleged that visitors were continuing to enter the venue even as those already inside were not exiting in an orderly manner, creating a dangerous crush.
'The stampede occurred when people were not leaving the pandal while a large number of people were entering from behind. This was a mistake on the part of the Puja organisers and the security agency responsible for the arrangements. Whatever happened will be investigated by the SIT, which has been formed to probe the incident,' Rai said. The formation of a Special Investigation Team signals the seriousness with which authorities are treating the case.
Rain and Chaos: Bihar Leader Weighs In
Bihar BJP leader Ram Kripal Yadav described the incident as heartbreaking and linked the chaos partly to rainfall that reportedly worsened conditions at the venue.
'The incident in Bengal is heartbreaking, tragic, distressing and painful. Chaos broke out at the pandal due to rain, leading to this unfortunate incident. We should pray to God for peace for the souls of those who lost their lives,' Yadav said.
BJP MP Kangana Ranaut Appeals for Caution
BJP MP Kangana Ranaut conveyed condolences to bereaved families and issued a public safety advisory ahead of Dussehra and Diwali, both of which draw massive crowds across the country.
'This is a very unfortunate incident, and a stampede occurred there. I cannot express how the festive season, which is usually filled with celebrations everywhere, has now turned into a time of mourning for so many people. We extend our condolences to the affected families. We urge people to avoid visiting overcrowded places where pushing and shoving can occur, as more festivals are approaching, including Dussehra and Diwali,' Ranaut said.
Prohibitory Orders, SIT, and Security Overhaul
Kolkata Police have imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, banning assemblies in a large area around the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in North Kolkata until 20 October. The orders came after the stampede occurred on Saturday night.
The state administration has simultaneously stepped up precautions at other major Durga Puja venues across the city. Chief Minister Shuvendu Adhikari ordered a special inspection team on Saturday night to review crowd-management arrangements at Kolkata's most-visited pandals. Notably, this incident comes at the height of Bengal's most significant religious and cultural festival, when tens of lakhs of people visit pandals every night across the city.
With Dussehra and Diwali on the horizon, the Kolkata tragedy is likely to prompt crowd-safety reviews at large public gatherings across multiple states in the coming weeks.
Point of View
Blame-deflection, and calls for the festival to continue — but it sidesteps the structural question: why do crowd-management failures at large Indian public gatherings keep recurring despite post-mortem SITs and post-tragedy audits? Dilip Ghosh's framing — that accidents happen, but worship must go on — captures the political difficulty of applying hard safety standards to religious events that mobilise millions of voters. The SIT probe will generate findings, but unless its recommendations are binding and publicly tracked, they risk joining a long line of post-stampede reports that informed no one. With Dussehra and Diwali weeks away and pandals still drawing lakhs nightly, the real test is whether this tragedy produces enforceable crowd-density protocols or merely another round of condolences.
NationPress
18 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata?
A stampede occurred at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in North Kolkata on Saturday night, 18 October 2026 , causing casualties. According to BJP leader Umesh Rai, the tragedy was triggered when large numbers of visitors pushed in from behind while those already inside were not exiting in an orderly manner.
What action has the West Bengal government taken after the stampede?
Chief Minister Shuvendu Adhikari ordered a special inspection team to review arrangements at major Durga Puja pandals across Kolkata. Kolkata Police imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 BNSS, 2023 in the area around the pandal until 20 October , and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted to probe the incident.
Why did BJP's Dilip Ghosh say Durga Puja celebrations should not stop?
Dilip Ghosh argued that the government was already fulfilling its responsibilities and that the ongoing religious observance should not be suspended because of the incident. He stated that police were present across venues and the broader system was functioning, framing the stampede as a rare accident rather than a systemic failure.
Who is being held responsible for the stampede?
BJP leader Umesh Rai alleged that both the Puja organisers and the security agency deployed at the pandal share responsibility for the crowd-management failure. The SIT is expected to examine their roles formally.
What safety advice have leaders issued ahead of Dussehra and Diwali?
BJP MP Kangana Ranaut urged the public to avoid overcrowded venues where pushing and shoving could endanger lives, particularly with Dussehra and Diwali approaching. The Kolkata administration's tightened security measures at remaining pandals are also seen as a broader warning to event organisers nationwide.
