Chorbagan's Durgā goes to the Hooghly without Debī Baraṇ or Sindūr Khelā as police seek voice samples of two accused
With no puja committee member present and the pandal kept standing for the probe, a week-long uncertainty over the idol ended under police watch at Nimtala Ghat.
- Hindustan Times
- News18 (PTI)
- The Hindu
The Durgā idol of Chorbagan Sarbojanin Puja in north Kolkata was immersed in the Hooghly at Nimtala Ghat on Saturday, a week after a stampede at the pandal killed 19 people, Hindustan Times reported. The farewell took place without Debī Baraṇ and Sindūr Khelā, the customary rites in which women, preferably married, offer sweets and sindūr to the goddess before she leaves.
The immersion had stayed uncertain until retired judge Anindita Roy Saraswati, who heads one of the special investigation teams probing the tragedy, cleared it on condition that the main pandal structure be preserved for the investigation. Police cut a section of the entrance gate to bring the idol out, and a large police contingent supervised the procession.
No member of the puja committee was present, according to both Hindustan Times and The Hindu. Residents lined Central Avenue, women bowed before the idol and locals carried candles, while a black banner on a truck offered condolences to the families of the dead and injured.
"This year, there was no 'Debi Boron'. We could not even find out whether there had been any shortcomings in the puja.
Mother, please forgive us," resident Sananda Roy told Hindustan Times. Earlier on Saturday, PTI reported that Kolkata Police had approached a local court for permission to take voice samples from two arrested men, puja committee treasurer Sanjib Raha and Kushal Majumdar, to check whether they made the loudspeaker announcement that part of the pandal was collapsing.
Investigators have three to four audio and video clips of announcements made around the time of the crush and have recorded statements from about 60 people, including injured visitors, home guards, civic volunteers and private security staff. Nine people, including two announcers, have been arrested, and police said the evidence will be examined before a chargesheet is prepared.
The Hindu noted that 13 of the 19 dead were women and girls, and that with this immersion the Durgā Pūjā season has formally closed in West Bengal.
Key data
19 dead and 25 injured in the 17 Oct stampede (PTI); 13 of the dead female, including 5 minors (The Hindu). 9 arrested; statements from about 60 people; 3 to 4 audio and video clips to be matched with voice samples. 2 SITs probing.
Why it matters
A goddess sent off without her farewell rites is a rare wound for a Bengali para, and the community's grief now rests on whether the probe fixes responsibility. The voice-sample evidence will decide whether the crush is treated as one man's false alarm or a wider failure of crowd management.
GK: did you know?
Sindūr Khelā is performed on Vijayā Daśamī, the tenth day of the bright fortnight of Āśvina, when married women apply vermilion to the goddess and to one another before the idol's visarjan.
