The ransacked stage at Chanchol on Friday; and (above) a poster announcing the Raveena Tandon Night. Pictures by Surajit Roy

Malda, Nov. 11: Bollywood actress Raveena Tandon had to beat a hasty retreat from a jatra performance aborted by mob frenzy at Chanchol last night.

The Raveena Tandon Night, organised by the United Young Star Club, ended with the Mast mast star having to run for safety and then rush off to Calcutta as police and volunteers on duty failed to stop a 20,000-strong crowd from surging towards her.

With the star attraction of the night disappearing into the darkness, the mob ransacked the stage and set it on fire, forcing the police to launch a lathicharge and even fire blanks.

“It was quite an experience. I saw with my own eyes what a stampede is. There were thousands of people surging like a wave towards the stage. It was uncontrollable. I was lucky to get out in the nick of time. A lot of the troupe members were badly injured in the melee,” Raveena told The Telegraph today before heading back to Mumbai.

According to sources, the club, which was supposed to sell 12,000 tickets, had allegedly sold many more for the musical extravaganza at Hazatpur football ground in the Makdampur area of Chanchol.

“As the crowd spilled over to watch the Bollywood actress, there was chaos all around. Even then, the function started on time at 9pm and Raveena Tandon took the stage at 9.30 to tu cheez bari hai mast mast (from Mohra). The crowd started dancing and cheering,” a police officer said.

Then started the surge towards the stage. “When some youths tried to break the barricade and clamber onto the stage, the actress stopped her performance and rushed off, fearing for her safety,” said Abdul Mannan, a member of the club.

Raveena Tandon

With Raveena exiting the stage, the crowd went berserk. Within minutes, the ground turned into a battlefield. The crowd smashed chairs and barricades before torching the stage. Two fire engines managed to douse the flames.

“We had an adequate number of volunteers and a team of 50 policemen led by two inspectors. But the crowd just could not be controlled,” said Abdul Majed, another club member.

Sagar Saha, the inspector in charge of Chanchol, and seven other policemen were injured in the melee, prompting them to call for reinforcements and the Rapid Action Force. A baton charge followed but when that failed to have an impact, 10 rounds were fired in the air to disperse the mob, witnesses claimed.

“The blame lies with the organisers and the police. We had paid Rs 60 to see the star perform but we were refused a performance,” said Rahul Sheikh, who had to come to watch the show.

Police later arrested 24 men for ransacking and breach of law and order. “The organisers fled the spot,” said the Malda superintendent of police Jayanta Pal. The police denied the charge of firing.