West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday blamed administrative mismanagement for the unfortunate and untimely demise of popular payback singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, popularly known as KK.
Speaking to media persons at Bagdogra Airport in North Bengal before leaving for New Delhi, the governor said that there was no risk management in place at the venue where KK made his last performance in Kolkata on Tuesday evening. “There should have some control on the number of spectators coming there. The right step was not taken at the time of emergency,” the governor said.
Claiming that his heart bleeds over the unfortunate demise of the playback singer, the governor also said there was utter mismanagement at the venue on that day. “Those who were responsible for keeping the situation under control, ensuring disciplined crowd control and coming up with solutions in the moment of crisis, miserably failed in their duties,” the governor said.
His clear hint was that when KK was feeling uneasy while travelling from the venue of Narzrul Manch in South Kolkata to his hotel in Central Kolkata, why was he not immediately shifted to one of the nearby hospitals.
Reacting to the governor’s comments, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) mayor and West Bengal Transport Minister, Firhad Hakim said that Dhankhar was behaving and reacting more like a BJP leader rather than as a governor. “I feel that leader of the opposition in West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari should be replaced by Dhankhar now,” he said.
Already an appeal from Saumitra Khan, one the BJP Lok Sabha members from West Bengal, has gone to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, demanding a central agency probe in the matter. Even CPI(M) and Congress leaders have demanded probe in the mismanagement at Nazrul Manch that might been one of the reasons for KK’s health deterioration.