Tragedy in UP: 65 die in ashram stampede

Pratapgarh (UP): At least 65 people — nearly all of them women and children — were killed and 28 others injured in a stampede on Thursday in a local ashram after a collapse of its gate triggered panic among about 10,000 people who had converged for a ritual.

Thirty seven women and 26 children were among those killed after they were trampled over by the crowd that had gathered at Kripalu Maharaj’s ashram, 60 kms from here, during distribution of food and utensils for the “Shradh” (post-death rites) of his wife, sub-divisional magistrate Kunda Shyama Charan said.

Inspector General of Police (Allahabad range) Chandra Prakash said at least 28 people have been injured in the stampede at the ashram in Mangarh area of the district. The injured have been rushed to hospitals in Pratapgarh and Allahabad, about 75 kms from here, officials said.

Eyewitnesses said that many of those killed had fallen into a borewell near the gate. Officials said the district authorities were not given prior intimation about the function.

Angry relatives of victims alleged they were not being allowed by the police to look for the bodies of their loved ones. The ashram is spread over nearly six hectares of land in a remote area. Police contingents from several adjoining areas have reached there for relief operations.

Stampedes at temples and other religious places in India have claimed nearly 700 lives in the past eight years.
On September 30, 2008, nearly 150 devotees were killed and over 60 injured in a stampede at Chamunda Devi temple in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur city.

The incident took place when there was a rumour of a bomb going off. More than 10,000 people had turned up at the famous temple for a darshan. Such a tragedy at the Hindu temple of Naina Devi in Himachal on August 3, 2008, had claimed 150 people, mainly women and children, and injured about 230.