Kolkata, Oct. 26 -- The Kolkata Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Chorbagan Durga Puja stampede has hit a major hurdle, with footage from 16 of the 32 CCTV cameras installed at the venue remaining unavailable to investigators.
Meanwhile, the state government-formed SIT, headed by retired Justice Anindita Roy Saraswati, held a meeting at Writers' Buildings on Monday in the presence of senior police officials. Following the meeting, the chairperson said a roadmap had been prepared for the investigation and evidence collection would begin on October 31 (Saturday).
While the state SIT is yet to begin collecting evidence, the Kolkata Police SIT has summoned Sushanta Shibani Pal, the theme artist and designer of the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal, for questioning by October 28 (Wednesday).
He is likely to be questioned about the pandal's structural design and layout, entry and exit routes for crowds, capacity limits communicated to the Puja committee, construction materials and compliance with safety specifications.
According to sources, the missing footage is considered crucial as it may help establish what triggered the initial panic. Technical teams are examining the camera systems and storage servers to determine whether the data loss resulted from technical glitches or deliberate tampering.
Meanwhile, police on Sunday afternoon took Sanjeev Raha, one of those arrested in connection with the stampede, to the pandal to reconstruct the incident.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.