Kolkata, Nov. 1 -- The state-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal stampede, has questioned Kolkata Police and West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services personnel deployed at the venue on October 17.
The high-powered panel, headed by retired Calcutta High Court judge Justice Anindita Roy Saraswati, held a series of meetings at Writers' Buildings to record the statements of emergency personnel. In the first round of questioning, the SIT interrogated 13 personnel from Girish Park police station who were deployed at the pandal. Fire and Emergency Services personnel were also questioned.
The investigators are examining how structural safety and evacuation clearances were granted despite alleged bottlenecks at the venue. Fire officials are being questioned on whether they had flagged the narrow entryways, structural defects and unauthorised commercial stalls blocking the pathways, which allegedly hampered evacuation when panic broke out.
The SIT is likely to summon several other police personnel, including senior officers, as well as the theme artist and some eyewitnesses. The investigators are also examining why nearly half of the venue's CCTV cameras, including one near a sealed exit gate, were non-functional at the time of stampede.
The inquiry is also focusing on the microphone announcement shortly before the disaster, claiming that the pandal was collapsing. The team is cross-checking statements from police and fire personnel with the testimony of arrested puja committee treasurer Sanjeev Raha to establish who authorised the announcement.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.