24 killed, 20 injured in stampede during religious gathering

No less than 24 people have lost their lives in a stampede during a religious gathering in Northern India on Saturday, October 15.

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The police reported that the stampede occurred after thousands of devotees of a controversial guru attempted to cross a bridge at the same time.

Followers of the guru, Jai Gurudev, who is the leader of a local religious sect, were gathered on the outskirts of Varanasi, a Hindu holy town on the banks of the river Ganges in Uttar Pradesh state for a two-day religious congregation when the deadly stampede occurred, Vanguard reports.

“A total of 24 people have died in the incident. Nineteen of the dead are women,” Hari Ram Sharma, police inspector general, told reporters in the state capital Lucknow.

The reports reveal that at least 20 others who were seriously injured in the stampede are currently undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital.

Javeed Ahmed, the state police chief blamed the tragic incident on overcrowding on the old iron bridge.

“They had sought permission for 5,000 persons but much more people reached and joined the procession.

“They were crossing a bridge when some rumour-mongering happened which led to the disaster,” Ahmed told India’s NDTV news network.

According to a spokesman for the religious sect, Raj Bahadur, the stampede began after a rumour spread that the narrow bridge had collapsed, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported.

“The devotees were proceeding towards the camp (across the river) but police started sending them back. This led to rumours that the bridge has collapsed,” he said.

TV footage shows piles of clothing and footwear were seen lying in a heap as the police cleared out the debris.

Another witness told reporters, “There was a lot of chaos, all of us were pushed and shoved. Many people have died including my mother."

State Chief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav, through his spokesman, Rajendra Chaudhary, reportedly ordered that a high-level enquiry is carried into the tragedy while announcing that monetary compensation would be arranged for the families of the victims.

Unfortunately, such stampedes at religious festivals in India are not common even with the help of the police and volunteers who are usually overwhelmed by the sheer size of the crowd.

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In July 2015, 27 pilgrims were killed in a stampede which took place along the banks of the holy river in Southern India.