The idols of the Chorbagan Sarbojanin community Durga Puja in Kolkata were taken for immersion on Saturday, 25 October 2026, but without the traditional farewell rituals that local women perform every year — a sombre omission that reflected the grief of a neighbourhood still reeling from a tragic stampede that killed 19 people on the night of 17 October.

A Muted Send-Off for the Goddess

After the idols were brought out of the Puja pandal on Saturday evening, local residents gathered briefly before them and offered prayers for the souls of those who perished in the stampede. The customary ritual in which women bid farewell to Goddess Durga with vermillion, betel leaf, and sweets was not observed this time.

'After the stampede tragedy on the night of October 17, it was mutually decided that this time the idols will be taken for immersion without performing the regular rituals. Instead, we prayed to Maa Durga to provide strength and courage to the family members of the deceased persons in the tragic stampede. We also apologised to Maa Durga for not performing her farewell rituals,' a local woman told reporters at the site.

Court Permission and Strict Conditions

The path to immersion was not straightforward. Initially, the administration had decided the pandal and idols would be kept intact until the ongoing investigation into the stampede was completed. However, on Thursday, Justice Anindita Roy Saraswati (retired), Chairperson of the state government-constituted judicial probe panel, permitted the immersion — but only on the condition that the pandal structure remain undisturbed.

In compliance, the Chorbagan Sarbojanin organisers hired 40 expert and professional porters to carefully remove the idols without touching the surrounding structure. The entire operation was conducted under the supervision of a team of officers from the Kolkata Police. The idols were subsequently escorted to the banks of the river Ganges for immersion, with the usual festive enthusiasm of the community conspicuously absent.

Dual Probes Underway

Two separate investigations are running in parallel. The state government-constituted judicial probe panel, headed by Justice Roy Saraswati, is examining the broader circumstances of the disaster. Simultaneously, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kolkata Police is conducting its own inquiry.

So far, nine persons have been arrested in connection with the stampede. Of these, two are accused of making a misleading announcement that reportedly triggered panic among the devotees gathered inside the pandal on the night of 17 October, which, according to investigators, ultimately led to the fatal crush.

What the Stampede Left Behind

The 17 October stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin pandal is among the deadliest crowd-crush incidents to hit Kolkata's Durga Puja celebrations in recent memory. The tragedy has prompted calls for stricter crowd management protocols at major festival gatherings across West Bengal. Notably, Durga Puja — a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage — draws millions of visitors to Kolkata each year, making crowd safety a perennial but often under-addressed concern.

As the dual probes continue and the pandal structure remains sealed, the Chorbagan Sarbojanin community faces the difficult task of reconciling public grief with institutional accountability — a process that is likely to extend well beyond the festival season.