Kolkata: Retired Justice Anindita Roy Saraswati, chairperson of the six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Chorbagan stampede, inspected the Durga Puja pandal on Thursday — at the same time of day and under the same lighting conditions as the October 17 tragedy — and said the entry and exit lanes were so narrow that a mishap was foreseeable if a large crowd gathered. Nineteen people were killed and 25 injured in the stampede.

Source: Fact.net.in

Justice Saraswati described the entry and exit routes as 'pathetically narrow' and noted dim lighting inside the pandal. She said police officers informed the panel that an emergency exit existed but was closed at the time of the incident. She also clarified that the stampede occurred in front of the exit gate, not inside the pandal, and said the structure would be kept in its existing condition until further orders so the investigation is not disturbed.

Source: Nation Press

The SIT will examine CCTV footage already seized, speak to eyewitnesses and rescuers, and examine the roles of Kolkata Police and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Justice Saraswati said. The panel will also examine the role of the man who allegedly announced over the public address system shortly before the stampede that visitors should leave because the pandal was at risk — an announcement investigators believe may have triggered panic.

The West Bengal government constituted the SIT in consultation with the Calcutta High Court through an order issued by the Chief Secretary's office on October 21. Alongside Justice Saraswati, the team includes senior officials from the Disaster Management and Civil Defence Department, the state police and STF, the Home and Hill Affairs Department, and the NDRF in Kolkata. It has been tasked with establishing the exact sequence of events, examining overcrowding, weather, gate management, rumours and crowd-control failures, fixing responsibility where warranted, and recommending measures to prevent a repeat.

Source: Live Law