Jehanabad administration claimed the stampede occurred due to quarrel.
Jehanabad administration claimed the stampede occurred due to quarrel.
Patna, August 12: Jehanabad administration claimed a quarrel between flower sellers and devotees led the stampede at Baba Sidheshwar Nath temple in Warnavar village early on Monday morning.
The tragic incident claimed the lives of seven people including five women and two children. The stampede occurred around 1 am on Monday at the temple located at Warnavar village under the jurisdiction of Makhdumpur police station in the district.
On the fourth Monday of the Sawan month, more than 60 thousand devotees gathered at the temple which is located around 2 KM from the foothill of the mountain in Warnavar village to offer water on the Shivling of Lord Shiva.
“The situation escalated when a quarrel arose between devotees and some traders just outside the temple. This quarrel quickly led into panic and chaos, resulting in the stampede that claimed seven lives,” said an official statement issued from the Jehanabad district magistrate’s office.
“As soon as we learned about the incident, we took control of the situation. We had deployed adequate police forces and civil magistrates at the temple. The investigation revealed that the quarrel between local flower vendors and devotees led to a stampede,” he said.
“The geographical location of Baba Sidheswar Nath temple is very challenging as it is located on the top of the mountain and the approach road is very narrow from both sides. The incident was suddenly triggered. Still, our police personnel and magistrates took control of the situation and minimized the casualties,” he said.
“We are making efforts to identify the alleged flower traders who were involved in the quarrel that triggered the stampede. We have constituted a joint team headed by SDO and SDPO rank officers. Following the findings of the report, we will take action against the accused who were involved in this incident,” he said.
Also Read: Seven persons died and 5 others were injured due to a stampede in Jehanabad.
The district administration rescued 16 injured persons from the spot and admitted them to the Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Makhdumpur. 10 of them were discharged after the preliminary treatment.
The deceased are identified as Poonam Devi, Nisha Kumari, Sushila Devi, Neeta Devi, Raju Kumar, Pyare Paswan and one more whose identity is not established yet.
Alankrita Pandey, the district magistrate of Jehanabad confirmed seven persons died in this stampede. She said the action would be taken against the accused.
Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed sorrow and grief over the unfortunate deaths due to stampede in Jehanabad. He has announced compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the family members of the deceased and Rs 50 thousand to the injured persons.
Tejashwei Yadav, the leader of the opposition also expressed grief following the unfortunate incident claimed seven lives.
The district administration conducted the postmortems of seven deceased and handed them over to their respective families.
EOM.
