Patna: Last night, at a temple in the Jehanabad district of Bihar, seven devotees, including three women, perished in a stampede that occurred purportedly as a result of the use of force to subdue the crowd. In the stampede at the Baba Sidheshwar Nath shrine on the Baravar hills, at least thirty-five more people were hurt. However, the authorities have refuted any carelessness on their part.
🚨 BREAKING: 7 dead, 16 injured in stampede at Baba Siddhanath Temple in Makhdumpur, Jehanabad district, Bihar.
A dispute among kanwariyas sparked an altercation, scuffle, and subsequent stampede, according to District Magistrate Alankrita Pandey. #Bihar pic.twitter.com/ajgvJjtTve
— Beats in Brief (@beatsinbrief) August 12, 2024
The Incident
The Jehanabad Post-mortem Hose had received seven bodies, according to Diwakar Kumar Vishwakarma, Town Inspector. Every year during the sacred month of Shravan, the devotees congregate at the temple for an event known as the consecration. Images from Jehanabad showed wounded people receiving treatment at the nearby hospitals in Makhdumpur and Sadar, as well as heartbroken families lamenting their loss.
“Those who were at the temple reported that there was a stampede because the authorities had not made any preparations. The victim’s relative told reporters that “the stampede was caused by some National Cadet Corps (NCC) volunteers who were handling the crowd by using ‘lathis’ on the devotees.”
The Death Toll Might Rise.
A temple visitor who was a devotee claimed that when a dispute broke out between a flower vendor and the volunteers, they used lathi-charge. He said that no one from the administration was present and that this caused the stampede.
“This happened due to the negligence of the police administration,” he claimed. Sub-divisional officer (SDO) Vikash Kumar refuted claims made by NCC volunteers that they used lathis to subdue the gathering.
Official Response
“That kind of stuff didn’t happen. This situation was regrettable. Vigilance was strictly enforced. Enough preparations were made, including the use of force (NCC), civic deputations, and medical personnel. After the post-mortem, we will provide further information,” Mr. Kumar stated.
PTI was informed by District Magistrate Alankrita Pandey that the stampede resulted from a disagreement between