TIA CORRESPONDENT
At least 10 ‘Kanwarias’ devotees including one woman have been killed and more that 50 injured in Deoghar in Jharkhand this morning. The incident occurred around 4.30 AM at Bela Bagan, about three kilometers away from the main temple complex, when, in the process of queue formation for onward journey for ‘darshan’, some devotees allegedly tried to run ahead of others, which triggered stampede. The injured have been admitted to local government hospital in Deoghar. A high level team, under State Home Secretary has been rushed to Deoghar to monitor relief works besides conducting an inquiry into the incident.
Jharkhand government has announced ex-gratia payments of two lakhs rupees each to relatives of those killed in stampede and rupees fifty thousands each to those injured.
The Temple Management Board of Deoghar has , in addition to this, has announced payment of rupees one lakhs each to the relatives of dead and 25 thousands to those injured.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh has instructed Home Secretary LC Goyal to send two extra Rapid Action Force battalion to Deoghar for better crowd and security management.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi , Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief Minister Raghuwar Das have condoled the loss of lives due to the stampede in Deoghar, Jharkhand.
Leader of opposition in state Assembly & JMM leader Hemant Soren has blamed state government for the incident.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi has also condoled the loss of lives in the stampede at Deoghar in Jharkhand. Expressing her condolences to the families of the victims, she hoped that the injured are being given prompt assistance. She urged the authorities to take steps regarding the safety of the devotees and ensure that such incidents do not recur.