India’s stampede death toll rises to 116

NEW DELHI, India | Xinhua | The death toll in Tuesday’s stampede in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh rose to 116, out of which 88 victims’ bodies were lying at a local trauma center, 27 at Etah Hospital and one at a hospital in the Hathras town, confirmed a local administration official to Xinhua over phone.

Another local official, Divisional Commissioner of Aligarh Chaitra V. reportedly told media that the death toll had “risen to 107.”

The death toll was feared to rise further as many injured persons were admitted at various hospitals, out of whom some were said to be in critical conditions.

According to preliminary reports, nearly 50,000 people had congregated at a religious gathering in Sikandra Rao area of Hathras. But there were only 40 police posted at the spot to manage the huge crowd, added the reports.

Most among the killed were women and children who died after slipping on the wet ground and falling into a ditch by the roadside. The tragedy was said to have struck after the ceremony, lasting nearly two hours, had ended and people had started to leave.

A religious figure was leaving the venue and people ran towards him to touch his feet and take his blessings. Suddenly there was chaos and people started slipping on the wet ground while running, and began falling on each other, an eyewitness told “Aaj Tak” news channel.

News agency “Press Trust of India” (PTI) quoted an eyewitness lady, identified as Shakuntala, as saying that after the religious ceremony ended, people started leaving the venue. “Outside the road was built on a height with a drain below. One after the other, people started falling into it. Some people got crushed,” she added.

Media reports suggested that “callous attitude” on the part of the local administration and the police, by giving a blind eye to ensuring adequate arrangements at the venue of the religious gathering, had led to the stampede.

Local resident Ram Asrey Dubey told Xinhua over phone, “For many years, the religious figure has been giving weekly sermons on every Tuesday in several areas in western Uttar Pradesh. His programs draw hundreds of thousands of people, but hardly any care is taken to ensure adequate arrangements.”■