A forensic team sent into the Kolkata pavilion where 19 worshippers died came back counting air conditioners.

Experts who examined the forensic report found 24 air-conditioning units with a combined 134-ton cooling capacity inside the Chore Bagan Sarbojanin pandal in North Kolkata, where a stampede at a gate killed at least 19 people on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, according to sources at Lalbazar, the Kolkata Police headquarters.

Air Conditioning Instead of Ventilation

Investigators concluded that the units were inadequate for the structure’s size and for the footfall expected on Saptami and Ashtami. The report describes the pandal as severely overcrowded and faults the organizers for relying on air conditioning rather than adequate ventilation and crowd control.

A senior Kolkata Police official said, “The entire incident is being investigated based on the information that has emerged.”

Rain Sent the Crowd Running

The crush came on the evening of Maha Saptami, a day in the annual Hindu festival honoring the goddess Durga. A sudden burst of rain sent crowds rushing for cover and for the same gate, and panic turned into a crush. Some worshippers fell on the road and were trampled, police said.

A senior police official at the scene told AFP that the “crowd waiting outside the pandal [pavilion] was pushing, pulling and rushing forward and fell on the ground, leading to the stampede.”

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said preliminary information pointed to an announcement over a public-address system, along with whistles, as the trigger for the rush. He alleged that private security personnel made the announcement. Kolkata police attributed the crush to heavy crowds of pandal visitors during the rain at an exit gate in the Girish Park police station area, and a complaint registered at that station blames poor crowd control by the organizers. The same complaint also cites an announcement warning that the pandal could collapse.

Police said at least 25 people were taken to Kolkata Medical College and Hospital on the night of Oct. 17, when early reports put the toll at 17. Adhikari, after visiting the hospital, said 19 people had died and 25 were being treated. The 19 dead included 13 women and four minors. The youngest was seven-year-old Ayans Kumar Srivastav, who had come from Bihar with his family; others named include Sandeep Bej, 14, of Purba Bardhaman, Pranjal Sarkar, 31, of Agarpara, Priya Samaddar, 18, Akriti Kumari, 17, Barnali Haldar, 17, and Tania Biswas, 18.

One of the 25 injured remained in critical condition, and none of the injured had died as of Oct. 20, Adhikari said. Fourteen of the injured were shifted to a private hospital off EM Bypass after initial treatment at Medical College and Hospital.

Ribs That Pierced the Lungs

Preliminary post-mortem reports on the 19 victims show that most died of traumatic asphyxia, a severe compression of the chest that prevents the lungs from expanding. A senior health department official, quoted by the news agency PTI, said: “Seven of the deceased suffered asphyxia along with injuries to multiple organs. In at least six cases, fractured ribs had penetrated the lungs, apparently due to intense compression in the packed crowd.”

Other victims suffered internal bleeding; damage to the lungs, stomach, liver and pancreas; head injuries; fractures; and intracranial hemorrhage. Doctors performed post-mortems on 18 victims at Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital and on the remaining one at Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital, the official said. Final findings are awaited.

The Court Rejects the SIT Plan

Nine people have now been arrested, among them the puja committee’s secretary and vice-president. The first seven accused were ordered into 10-day police custody on Oct. 18, and two announcers linked to the committee were arrested on Oct. 22 and Oct. 23. Police also detained the pavilion’s organizers, private security personnel and on-duty staff, and opened a probe into crowd-control and safety lapses.

Adhikari announced an investigation by a Special Investigation Team to be headed by a judge of the state’s High Court. The Calcutta High Court rejected that proposal on Tuesday, Oct. 20, and directed the state to set up an inquiry headed by a retired High Court judge instead. On Oct. 21, the state formed a six-member special investigation team headed by retired judge Anindita Roy Saraswati, with three months to report. The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) has directed accusations at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and called for accountability for the deaths.

A Government Job for Each Family

The West Bengal government announced compensation of 25 lakh rupees and a Group D government job for each deceased victim’s family. The office of Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced 200,000 rupees ($2,106) for the next of kin of each person killed and 50,000 rupees ($527) for each of the injured. Modi posted condolences on X.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited a Kolkata hospital on Oct. 18 and met victims of the stampede. Shah said the administration was providing medical care to the injured.

Kolkata Police directed puja organizers to provide adequate lighting inside pandals after the tragedy, and authorities advised several of the city’s most heavily attended venues to close temporarily to visitors. About 3,500 pandals — temporary pavilions housing idols of the goddess Durga, each drawing thousands of devotees — were set up across the city for the festival. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed safety checks at Durga Puja pandals.

Deadly crowd incidents are frequent at Indian mass events, often involving poor management and safety lapses. At least 30 people died in January 2025 when tens of thousands of Hindus rushed to bathe in a sacred river at the Maha Kumbh festival, and 121 died in 2024 at a Hindu religious gathering in northern Uttar Pradesh state. At least 115 were crushed to death or drowned in 2013 at a Hindu festival at a temple in Madhya Pradesh, amid fears that a bridge would collapse.

More recently, 11 fans were crushed to death in Bengaluru in June 2025 during celebrations for the local cricket team’s first Indian Premier League title, and 41 people died in September 2025 in a stampede at a campaign rally for a popular actor-turned-politician in southern Tamil Nadu state.