Chorbagan pandal collapse: Police seek face-to-face questioning of two announcers

Investigators want to question two arrested announcers face to face to establish what was announced over the microphone before and after the collapse at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin puja pandal. Sanjib Raha alias Sentu and Kushal Majumdar alias Kalia were arrested over allegations that they announced that the pandal was collapsing or about to collapse.

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Investigators examine the announcers’ roles

Preliminary investigation has indicated that Raha was primarily responsible for announcements at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin puja. He was arrested first, while Majumdar was arrested on Friday morning. Investigators are seeking to establish the timing of the announcements, who instructed them and how the sequence relates to the timing of the pandal collapse.

Kalia’s account

Kalia claims that the ‘bada babu’ and ‘chhota babu’ of Girish Park police station were present at the club shortly before the incident. He has claimed that he learnt that the rear portion of the pandal had collapsed and made the announcement on the instruction of a police officer. According to his claim, he was told, ‘You make the announcement.’ He has also claimed that he made the announcement after failing to find the regular announcer.

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Several posts, including one with a handwritten note, were made from Kalia’s Facebook handle. According to the note, he and another club member had gone to get tea 10-15 minutes before hearing the sound. The investigators are examining these claims as part of the case.

Claims of panic after the announcement

It has been claimed that the microphone announcement led to further panic and a rush among visitors. Reports emerged of 19 deaths in the stampede and crushing incident, with several others injured. The authenticity of some videos circulated after the incident has not been verified.

Court order on police custody

On Saturday, Bankshall court ordered that Kalia be kept in police custody until November 6. Sudipta Haldar, a resident of Sonarpur, has claimed that the names of his two injured sisters were not included in the list of injured people. He said he submitted their names and documents to the police.