Leaders visit injured as authorities promise impartial inquiry into festival crush

UPDATE - follow-up to Kolkata pandal stampede LIVE | Will visit victims' families in their homes, handover compensation cheques, says CM Adhikari: Union Home Minister Amit Shah and West Bengal Governor R.N. Ravi visited the hospital to meet people hurt in the weekend crowd surge.

Inquiry and Criticism

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari promised a judge-led fact-finding team to investigate the tragedy without any police members on the panel. The Opposition Mamata All India Trinamool Congress criticized the government and police for poor crowd control and lack of medical help, pointing out that the chief patron of the event organizing committee is the Chief Minister's nephew, Debdeep Adhikari.

Context

Major public festivals in densely populated Indian cities regularly attract massive crowds that strain local security arrangements. Independent judicial inquiries are frequently established in India following major accidents to ensure transparency and fix administrative accountability.