Kolkata, Oct. 28 -- Seventeen of the 30 CCTV cameras installed at the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal were non-functional at the time of the stampede, exposing serious security lapses at the venue.
During the probe, police seized two digital video recorders (DVRs) used to store CCTV footage. One was meant to record footage from 14 cameras and the other from 16. However, investigators have so far recovered footage from only 13 of the 30 cameras.
The lack of operational surveillance has posed a major challenge for Kolkata Police. At the primary exit gate, where the stampede occurred, two of the three CCTV cameras had not even been switched on.
Investigators have been forced to rely on footage from a single, restricted angle to reconstruct how the crowd surge unfolded.
Analysis of the available footage suggests that the tragedy escalated within just two to three minutes. The fatal rush was allegedly triggered by a misleading loudspeaker announcement claiming that the pandal structure was collapsing, sparking panic among thousands of pandal hoppers trapped at the venue.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.