Police find four causes

A police probe has identified four reasons behind the tragic stampede in the city's Rima Convention Centre on Monday.

Faulty construction of the entrance to the convention centre, the organiser and volunteers' mismanagement, insufficient policemen and indiscipline among people caused the accident, SM Mostain Hossain, deputy commissioner (south) of Chittagong Metropolitan Police, told The Daily Star yesterday.

Mostain, also the chief of the three-member CMP probe committee, was likely to submit the investigation report to CMP Commissioner Iqbal Bahar last night.

Ten people were killed and at least 40 injured in the stampede during the qulkhwani of former Chittagong mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury on December 18.

The accident happened as several hundred people scrambled for food at the entrance to the convention centre in the city's Jamal Khan area.

“The faulty entrance to Rima Convention Centre was mainly responsible for the accident. Failing to survive a push from behind, some people fell down on the slope of the main entrance. Within moments, people from behind walked over them, causing the casualties,” said Mostain.

Asked if the probe body found any negligence of police, the CMP DC said cops didn't neglect their duties. He, however, admitted that the number of policemen was inadequate.

“Law enforcers tried their best to control the situation. The causality could have been bigger had the police charged batons on the large crowd at that time.”

The CMP official said they had deployed law enforcers as per requirement of the organisers of the programme.

There were only 20 cops on duty that day.

Following the fatal accident, police asked the convention centre authorities not to operate it until further notice.

Another five-member committee of the Chittagong district administration was probing the incident.

Brother of a victim on Monday night filed an unnatural death case with Chawkbazar Police Station in this connection.