Haridwar temple stampede: Six dead, 28 injured; probe on

Six people were killed and 28 others injured after a stampede broke out on the pedestrian route to Mansa Devi temple in Uttarakhand's Haridwar on Sunday. The Mansa Devi temple is located on the hilltop.

The incident occurred around 9.30 am allegedly following a rumour that a powerline had snapped. It being a Sunday, thousands of devotees had gathered to offer their prayers at the temple, which is a major religious site of the hill state.

Police are investigating the reason behind the incident. The state government pressed the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) into service soon after receiving a report about the incident.


Among those injured, five are serious and have been admitted to AIIMS Rishikesh. The other 23 injured are undergoing treatment at Haridwar district hospital.

The deceased have been identified as Arush (12 years), son of Pankaj, resident of Sauda, Bareilly (UP); Shakal Deo, (18), son of Bechan, resident of Araria (Bihar); Vicky (18), son of Rikka Ram Saini, resident of Rampur district (UP); Vipin (18), son of Raghuvir Saini, resident of Kashipur (Uttarakhand); Vakil, son of Bharat Singh, resident of Barabanki (UP), and Shanti, wife of Ram Bharose, resident of Badaun (UP).

Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who met the injured in the hospital, has announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh for the families of deceased and ₹50,000 for those injured. He has also ordered a magisterial probe into the incident. He has directed the disaster management department to review crowd management systems and security arrangements to prevent such incidents in the future.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was deeply saddened by the loss of lives in the stampede. "Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon. The local administration is assisting those affected," he said in a post on X.