63 killed in UP stampede over Rs 20,one utensil & one ladoo

Rs 20,one utensil,one ladoo and one handkerchief. This was the prasad that drew people in hundreds this morning to the Ram Janki temple at Kripalu Maharajs ashram in Mangarh,some 60 km from Pratapgarh....

Rs 20,one utensil,one ladoo and one handkerchief. This was the prasad that drew people in hundreds this morning to the Ram Janki temple at Kripalu Maharajs ashram in Mangarh,some 60 km from Pratapgarh. Braving the blazing sun,people packed the premises where a pandal collapse triggered panic,resulting in a stampede that left 63 dead,nearly all of them women and children,and another 100 injured.

The ceremony to mark the death anniversary of Padma Devi,wife of Kripalu Maharaj,turned into a tragedy as the surging crowds one estimate put the crowd strength around 10,000 brought down a pandal,broke down the gates at the entrance in the scramble for prasad even before it was distributed.

As people rushed in,private security guards pushed them back. Many were trapped in between,fell down and were trampled over.

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The bodies were later kept in a hall of the ashram hospital. The injured were being treated but the hospital lacked trauma care facilities. Many with minor injuries returned home without first aid.

At least 63 people died while 28 were admitted to the ashram hospital. Some of the seriously injured were taken to Allahabad Medical College for treatment, said Addl DG (Law and Order) Brij Lal.

Cabinet ministers Naseemuddin Siddiqui and Swami Prasad Maurya flew in to take stock of the situation.

Chief Minister Mayawati expressed grief over the incident and sent us to monitor the rescue operation. An inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the stampede and alleged negligence on the part of the organisers, said Siddiqui.

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The ashram did not take permission from the administration for the event. Had they asked police to manage the crowd,this tragedy would not have happened, said Ashok Kumar,officiating district magistrate of Pratapgarh.

Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh said Allahabad commissioner Ajay Kumar Upadhyaya will probe the reasons for the tragedy and submit an interim report within

24 hours.

An FIR has been lodged at the Kunda police station.

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