Initial probe blames ashram management for stampede

The principal secretary said the organisers had sent a letter to the Pratapgarh additional SP informing him about the bhandara and had requested for 10-15 policemen to be deputed for security at the ashram. The ASP had sent the policemen as requested.

The report also said the programme was to begin at noon,but people started gathering at the main gate of the ashram since morning and the crowd swelled by 9 am. Since the management had not arranged for sufficient number of volunteers at the place,the crowd forced its way into the ashram following which the gate crashed leading to the stampede.

The commissioner said he got the gates of the ashram examined by the chief engineer and the executive engineer of the state PWD,who said the building material of the gate did not meet the set standards.

The cashier of the ashram trust,Hrinmay Chatterji,too admitted in his written statement handed over to the commissioner that the management had not followed the required standard while installing the gates. The principal secretary said the deputy SP of Pratapgarh K P Singh has been handed over the investigation into the case registered against the ashram management and the organisers of the event.

He also said the police investigation would zero in on names of the persons in the management and among the organisers and action would be initiated accordingly. Asked why the local administration and the police were not being held responsible for negligence,Bahadur said,“The commissioner is still probing the matter.”