West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday claimed that there was total mismanagement and complete failure by the administration at Nazrul Manch, where Bollywood singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, popularly known as KK performed to a packed auditorium here before his death. There should have had control over the number of spectators at the venue during the program, which was held on Tuesday this week, he said.
"My heart bleeds. There could not have been more mismanagement. There could not have been more failure for the administration. There was no risk management system. There should have been control over how many visitors were coming (to the venue). Proper action was not taken during the crisis," Dhankhar told reporters at Bagdogra airport on his way to New Delhi from Darjeeling, where he was on a short trip.
City police commissioner Vineet Goyal had said on Friday that there was no situation where attendees were short of space at Nazrul Manch on that day. He said that KK was not mobbed at any point in time and police arrangement was in place at the venue under an assistant commissioner of police well before the singer's arrival. On overcrowding at the venue, he said the police have "clear video" in which people are seen to be standing comfortably and dancing.
There have been allegations that the air conditioning was not working properly during the program and there were about 7000 spectators, which was almost triple the capacity of the venue. Video grabs showed that the singer, who sang for a couple of hours at the fest of a city-based college, sweating profusely and complaining about the light arrangements there. KK died in the city on Tuesday night within an hour of his power-packed performance at Nazrul Manch.
The post-mortem had, however, indicated that KK had died due to a cardiac arrest and suffered from “prolonged cardiac issues” It was also found that he had several blockages in the arteries and a major blockage in the left main coronary artery. The Kolkata Police have registered a case of unnatural death over the demise of the renowned Bollywood singer and started an investigation.
