The West Bengal government, in consultation with the Calcutta High Court, has formally constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the stampede at the Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata on October 17, which claimed 19 lives and left several people injured, news agency ANI reported on Wednesday, October 21.

According to the official government notification cited by ANI, the panel will be chaired by Justice (Retd.) Anindita Roy Saraswati and must submit its final report to the state government within three months of the order. The SIT has been tasked with a comprehensive review of the circumstances that led to the tragedy and with recommendations to prevent such incidents in future.

ANI reported that the panel's members include the Principal Secretary of the Disaster Management and Civil Defence Department, the Director General and Inspector General of Police for the Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal, a representative of the Director General and Inspector General of Police not below the rank of Additional Director General, a representative of the Home and Hill Affairs Department not below the rank of Joint Secretary, and a representative of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) based in Kolkata.

The formal constitution follows the Calcutta High Court's direction a day earlier. India Legal Live reported that a bench of the court declined to monitor the probe itself and clarified that a sitting judge could not head the inquiry under Supreme Court guidelines, indicating instead that the government could appoint a retired judge. Police have arrested seven people, including two members of the puja organising committee, in connection with the incident, and the accused have been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and attempted culpable homicide, the report said. Those allegations are yet to be established in court.

ANI also reported that the Kolkata Fire Department has placed Durga Puja pandals in south Kolkata under special scrutiny after the stampede, directing the committees of Chetla, Tridhara, Deshapriya Park and Tollygunge Cultural to pay special attention to entry and exit routes and to implement additional fire-safety measures. In a related development, Nation Press reported on Wednesday that the Chorbagan pandal remained sealed on the administration's instructions while the investigation continues, leaving the immersion of its idols in limbo; only the symbolic immersion of the Kalash was completed on Wednesday afternoon, it said.