Bihar: Stampede in Begusarai on Kartik Purnima kills 3, Nitish Kumar announces ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh

At least three pilgrims were killed and over a dozen others were injured on Saturday in a stampede on the banks of the Ganga river in Bihar’s Begusarai district, various media reports said. According to Live Hindustan, all three deceased were women.

#SpotVisuals: 3 dead & 10 injured after stampede at Simaria Ghat in #Bihar's Begusarai. pic.twitter.com/iriqKc4ch4

— ANI (@ANI) November 4, 2017

Sadar Deputy Superintendent of Police Mithilesh Kumar said the incident occurred in a narrow lane next to Simaria ghat, where thousands of pilgrims gathered for the holy dip on the occasion of Kartik Purnima. Immediately after the incident, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar announced an ex-gratia of Rs four lakh for the kin of those who lost their lives. [caption id=“attachment_4192595” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] According to district police officials, the stampede was caused by some rumours. “There was a huge crowd at the Kali temple near Simariya ghat, where people had gathered to offer prayers on the auspicious occasion of Kartik Purnima. These three women apparently felt claustrophobic and collapsed on the narrow pathway leading to the temple,” the SP said. The situation was perfectly under control in the area, Kumar said. We have ascertained the identities of two women so far. One of them hailed from Noorsarai in Nalanda and another from Sitamarhi. Attempts were being made to establish the identity of the third woman," Kumar added. ADG (Headquarters) Sunil Kumar Singhal also said the deaths were caused due to suffocation. Asked if he was ruling out a possibility of stampede, Singhal said, “We will reach a final conclusion only after post-mortem reports arrive. If any negligence on part of the police is found, accountability will be fixed. The IG zone and the DIG range would also take stock of the situation.” Dainik Jagran reported that the local authorities were ill-prepared to tackle the growing crowd at the ghat. Live Hindustan reported that in the absence of any help from the authorities, the locals themselves began the rescue efforts. Kartik Purnima is a major festival in north India which celebrates the arrival of Lord Vishnu as Matsya (fish) on earth. The festival is also celebrated as Dev Diwali — the festival of the gods. With inputs from agencies