Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 17: At least seven devotees, all women, were killed and dozens of others injured in a stampede-like situation reportedly triggered by a rumour of a live electric wire had snapped at the Ashokdham temple in Lakhisarai district in Bihar due to heavy rush of people on the occasion of Monday of holy Shrawan month when people offer special prayers to Lord Shiva.
According to the eyewitness accounts, the crowd swelled at the temple after two trains arrived at the Lakhisarai railway station within a gap of 15 minutes from 6.30 AM carrying hundreds of devotees. The devotees, mostly women, rushed to offer sacred water to Lord Shiva at the temple on the third auspicious Monday of the month of Shrawan. The rush led to a stampede at the temple after a bamboo barricade broke and an electric pole snapped at the site, they said.
“The incident happened at 6:40 in the morning today due to a heavy rush of devotees… the barricade broke down, which triggered a sudden stampede that led to the incident… district officials were present at the site to control the situation,” said Lakhisarai District Magistrate Shailendra Kumar, who took charge of the district in April 2026. The white-domed Ashokdham temple is visible from the train and lies close to Lakhisarai railway station.
Officials said panic may have been triggered by rumours that a live electric wire had fallen into the crowd after an electric pole collapsed.
“The crowd swelled in an unprecedented manner. Around 6.30-6.45 am, two trains came here that too added to the crowd. Arrangements were made as we had anticipated the crowd. We then came to know that barricading broke on one side due to the crowd and people fell on each other,” Kumar said.
“The queue of devotees had reached till Ashokdham Halt. Two trains had stopped at the Halt. Suddenly, an electric pole fell there. The pole was located on the right side of the men’s queue. When the pole collapsed, a rumour spread that a live wire had fallen on people, but it was a cable wire,” he said. “This led to pressure on the women’s queue on the left side. So, women fell on top of each other… Police administration had been marching there since 3 am. This happened all of a sudden within a span of 2 minutes. We are at Sadar Hospital right now. All the deceased are women. We are finding out the exact number of deceased,” he added.
Sub-Divisional Police Officer Shivam Kumar said preliminary reports suggest an electric pole fell at the site, causing electrocution and triggering a stampede-like situation. He said the exact cause of the incident would be ascertained only after a thorough verification of the facts.
The incident triggered panic and caused chaos everywhere, but the administration and authorities arrived at the spot immediately to bring the situation under control. Senior officials from the police and administration were present and taking a stock of the situation.
Following the incident, officials and police teams reached the spot and began rescue efforts, while the injured were taken to nearby hospitals for medical care. The injured have been admitted to the Sadar (town) government hospital for medical assistance. Three of the seriously injured persons have been referred to Patna for better medical assistance.
Videos and photos from the site of the incident have gone viral that showed people rushing to the Ashokdham Temple on the last Monday of Shrawan. Many were even seen helping the injured, while authorities tried to bring the situation under control.
The Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary expressed grief over the deaths of devotees in the stampede and announced ₹4 lakh ex gratia to the kin of each deceased. “The incident at Ashokdham in Lakhisarai is tragic and heart-breaking. It has deeply saddened me. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. Necessary instructions have been issued to the administration to ensure proper and prompt medical care for the injured. May God grant peace to the departed souls and a speedy recovery to those who have been injured,” he wrote on X.
Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, expressed sorrow over the incident and accused the NDA Government in the State of “not making proper security arrangements for devotees and crowd control, which shows their administrative misgovernance.”
Former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar too has expressed grief over the incident. Chairman of Bihar State Board of Religious Trust, Ranbir Nandan, said the board would launch a probe into the incident and a team would visit the temple soon.
The Ashokdham Temple is also known as the Shri Indradamaneshwar Mahadev Temple. It houses a large Shivalinga. The temple attracts a large number of devotees, particularly during the holy month of Shrawan.