A 28-year-old youth from Sodepur succumbed to injuries sustained during an assault following a music concert at the Panihati Festival, sparking political reactions and raising questions about crowd safety at public events.
The victim, identified as a resident of Sodepur, was injured during an altercation after attending a live performance by Bollywood composer-singer Ankit Tiwari at the Panihati Festival held at Amrabati ground on Sunday. He died late Thursday night, four days after the incident, while undergoing treatment at a Kolkata hospital.
Scuffle escalated outside festival venue
According to police sources, the youth had gone to the programme with friends. A scuffle reportedly broke out between two groups amid the crowded venue. While the situation was initially brought under control inside the fairground, tensions flared again after the victim left the venue.
A senior officer from the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate said the youth was allegedly dragged into a nearby alley and beaten by a group of youths with whom he had earlier clashed. He later fell critically ill.
Multiple hospital transfers before death
Following the assault, the injured youth was first taken to Panihati State General Hospital. As his condition worsened, he was shifted to the College of Medicine and Sagor Dutta Hospital in Kamarhati. He was later transferred to the trauma care unit of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Four accused arrested, sent to custody
Khardah Police registered a case of murder and arrested four accused — Deep Adhikari, Debajit Das, Shivam Das and Akash Naskar — on Friday. They were produced before the Barrackpore court and remanded to police custody.
Investigators said the accused allegedly confessed that the attack was carried out on the instructions of Adhikari. Further investigation is underway to establish the sequence of events and identify whether more individuals were involved.
Political reactions and accountability demand
The incident has triggered sharp reactions from opposition parties, who demanded accountability as the Panihati Festival is organised under the supervision of Panihati Trinamool Congress MLA Nirmal Ghosh. Responding to the allegations, Ghosh stated that no untoward incident was reported inside the festival venue during the programme.
Police have maintained that the fatal assault occurred outside the fairground premises and assured that strict action will be taken against those responsible.