Kolkata stampede: Police seek voice samples of 2 accused over loudspeaker announcement, move court

Police personnel deployed at the Chorbagan Sorbojanin Durga Puja pandal following a stampede in Kolkata. File.

The Kolkata Police has moved a local court, seeking permission to collect voice samples of two persons arrested in connection with the Chorbagan Durga Puja stampede, as it probes into loudspeaker announcements in the pandal that allegedly sparked panic among revellers.

Investigators want to match the voice samples of the arrested accused – Sanjib Raha, the treasurer of the puja, and Kushal Majumdar – with audio recordings of the announcements made on October 17, when a stampede resulted in the death of 19 people, a senior officer said.

“We are examining the available audio and video footage to establish who made the announcements and whether the voices match with those of the accused. The forensic findings will be important in reconstructing the sequence of events,” he said.

Police have collected three to four audio and video clips of the announcements made around the time of the incident, he said.

The investigators have also identified the clip in which the announcement can be heard, and initiated the process of examining the audio recordings, the Kolkata Police officer said.

A loudspeaker announcement that a portion of the Chorbagan puja pandal was collapsing allegedly sparked panic among revellers, triggering a stampede-like situation.

“The voice samples will be compared with the recordings after the court grants permission,” he said.

As part of the probe, police have so far recorded the statements of around 60 people, including several of the 25 injured in the stampede – home guards, civic volunteers, private security personnel and locals.

Personnel involved in crowd management at the venue have also been questioned, he said.

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“Our officers are trying to establish the sequence of events, the nature of the announcements made over the public address system and their possible impact on the crowd. The evidence collected will be examined before the chargesheet is prepared,” he said.

Police have so far arrested nine people in connection with the case.

Meanwhile, preparations are underway for the immersion of the idols at the Chorbagan puja pandal.

The idols will be immersed at Nimtala Ghat here under strict police supervision, the officer added.

The immersion has been cleared by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted under the supervision of the Calcutta High Court, which has directed that the puja pandal be preserved in its existing condition for investigation.

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