At least 116 people were killed Tuesday in a stampede at the end of a religious event in northern India, prompting authorities to open an investigation to determine the causes and announce charges against the organizers.
“116 people have been confirmed dead. Those injured are receiving medical treatment and the bodies have been sent to different places for post-mortem,” Inspector General of Police Shalabh Mathur of Aligarh district, adjacent to Hathras district in Uttar Pradesh state where the incident took place, told reporters.
“Charges will be filed against the organisers who obtained permission for the event,” added the official from Aligarh, where several bodies and injured people were brought.
The stampede took place this afternoon at the conclusion of a religious ceremony known as ‘satsang’, an event usually organised by a guru for collective prayer, when thousands of devotees who attended began to leave.
According to witnesses quoted by Indian media, several people fell into a ditch outside the compound before reaching the road, causing a series of falls and many of them dying of suffocation.
Hathras District Magistrate Ashish Kumar told reporters that the incident occurred due to a large number of people trying to leave the place at the same time.
The official also said that the ceremony had been authorized by the authorities and that several police officers were even deployed in the vicinity. However, he said that the rest of the preparations were not their responsibility and that an investigation would be launched.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said he would file charges against the organisers, while announcing financial compensation of around $2,400 for the families of the dead and nearly $600 for the injured.
The stampede occurred at the same time as a session was being held in the Indian Parliament, during which dozens of parliamentarians took just a few minutes to share their condolences with the families of the deceased.
“I express my deepest condolences to those who lost their lives in this accident. I wish speedy recovery to all the injured. The administration is engaged in relief and rescue work under the supervision of the state government,” said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was conveyed the news while addressing the House.
Stampedes and crowds are a frequent occurrence at Indian religious celebrations and are largely due to poor management of mass gatherings or the poor infrastructure surrounding places of worship.
However, to find a stampede more deadly than the one on Tuesday, we have to go back to September 2008, when at least 150 people died and another 100 were injured in a stampede at the entrance to a temple in the city of Jodhpur, in the western Indian state of Rajasthan.
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2024-07-04 03:03:15
