A makeshift gate erected in the government-run Dhono Dhanyo auditorium complex in Alipore crashed on a group of folk artistes minutes before chief minister Mamata Banerjee was to arrive for a programme on Wednesday afternoon to mark the death anniversary of former superstar Uttam Kumar.
Two folk artistes have been admitted to SSKM Hospital.
Hospital officials said one of them suffered an injury in the head and the other in a leg. “Both have been admitted to the hospital and are in a stable condition,” said a doctor at SSKM.
Police said the injured are Asit Baran Sardar and Biswanath Sarkar, both in their 50s. Both are enrolled with the state government as folk singers and are entitled to a monthly stipend of ₹1,000.
Sardar, who is originally from the Diamond Harbour sub-division in South 24-Parganas, lives in Patuli, in south-east Calcutta. Sarkar is from Joynagar in Baruipur, South 24-Parganas.
“We were about to enter the auditorium when an overhead gate near gate No. 1 of Dhono Dhanyo crashed on us. I saw it coming down and ran to safety. But around 20-25 people were trapped under it,” said Debarghya Mandal, another folk singer from South 24-Parganas.
Mandal said he and others, helped by the police, rushed the two injured to the hospital in a taxi. “Both of them were bleeding,” Mandal said.
Several witnesses said Sardar had multiple injuries “that looked serious”.
Sardar’s wife and Sarkar’s brother have been informed about the accident and were called to the Trauma Care Centre at SSKM, Mandal said.
Soon after the crash, the overhead masts of the other makeshift gates were hurriedly dismantled as many in the area speculated whether more gates would come crashing.
The chief minister passed through the same stretch a little later. But by then the other overhead masts had been pulled down. Mamata arrived on time and the event was
held without any change in schedule.
The police said there was “no other reported disturbance” at the event, organised by the state information and cultural affairs department.
Asked about the incident, which stoked concerns about the chief minister’s security, Kolkata Police joint commissioner (headquarters) Meeraj Khalid said a probe had been initiated.
“The two injured persons have been admitted to hospital. A probe has been started. We are investigating what led to it (the incident),” the officer said.
This was not the first time a gate collapsed in a government event.
A few months ago, an overhead gate erected on Red Road during the Kolkata Police Safe Drive Save Life Half Marathon had crashed, injuring an additional commissioner of the city police and a woman, who was clicking photographs of her husband participating in the race.
Additional reporting by Subhajoy Roy