Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 31: At least nine devotees, all women, were killed and dozens of others injured in a stampede at the Sheetla Mata temple in Maghada village, about five kilometres from Bihar Sharif in Nalanda district in Bihar on Tuesday morning.
The district authorities later closed the temple to tackle the situation and the state government has announced an ex gratia of ₹6 lakh to the families of the victims. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh to the families of the deceased and ₹50,000 to those injured from the PM Relief Fund.
The authorities could not say what triggered the stampede but said investigation into the incident could bring out the cause later.
Locals alleged that there were no proper security arrangements at the temple to control the crowd. Devotees from Nalanda and neighbouring districts gather at the temple in Maghada village to offer prayers every Tuesday and today being the last Tuesday of the month of “Chaitra,” the number of devotees turning up for a “darshan” at the temple was much bigger than the normal days.
“It is always crowded here on Tuesday. People come for Sheetla Mata’s darshan. We too have come from Patna for darshan. But a stampede broke out, and people died. It happened due to mismanagement…An ambulance has reached here. It is so crowded here. Administration is not here,” Mamata Devi, a devotee, said.
“There was a large crowd today. For some reason, a stampede broke out. Everything related to the prayers and rituals was proceeding smoothly, and the crowd was substantial. People began running helter-skelter,” said Avinash Kumar, a witness. “Bheed toh bahut tha (There were a lot of people),” he said, without specifying a count, when asked about the number of people who had come to visit the temple.”Barcading bhi tha (There was barricading as well),” the witness said, when asked if the security arrangements were lax.
Ahead of President Droupadi Murmu’s visit to Bihar on Tuesday, it is said district administration had deployed most of police force in security arrangement for her in Rajgir. Ms Murmu was to attend the second convocation of Nalanda University as the chief guest and also inaugurate the university’s 2,000-seat auditorium at its campus in Rajgir. She later addressed the convocation ceremony of Nalanda University in Rajgir city.
Bihar Chief Secretary Pratyaya Amrit has been instructed to initiate a probe into the incident and submit a report to the government. Nalanda Superintendent Bharat Soni confirmed that Deep Nagar Station House Officer (SHO) Rajmani has been put under suspension over the incident. The district administration has also constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the incident.
President Murmu, who was on a day-long visit to Bihar, condoled the loss of lives in the stampede and prayed for the swift recovery of those injured. “The news of the death of numerous devotees in a stampede at a temple in Nalanda, Bihar, is extremely heart-breaking. I express my deepest condolences to all the bereaved families. I pray for the swift recovery of all those who have been injured,” Ms Murmu said in a post on X.
The Prime Minister Modi also expressed grief over the stampede incident and announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh to the families of the deceased and ₹50,000 to those injured from the PM Relief Fund. Expressing condolences, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary assured that all possible assistance would be provided to the victims.
The Bihar Chief Minister’s office said Mr Nitish Kumar was “deeply saddened” over the incident. “Nitish Kumar has expressed his condolences over the deaths of devotees in the stampede that occurred at the Sheetla Devi Temple in Bihar Sharif, Nalanda district. The Chief Minister stated that he is deeply saddened and heartbroken by this incident.”
Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary condoled the loss of lives in the stampede. “The tragic stampede incident at the Mata Sheetla Temple in Nalanda is extremely heart-breaking. I express my condolences to the families of all the devotees who lost their lives and were injured in this accident,” the Deputy Chief Minister posted on X.
The Deputy Chief Minister stressed that the government is providing every possible assistance and relief to the affected families. Arrangements have been made for the proper treatment of the injured, he said. “May God grant peace to the departed souls and provide strength to the grieving families during this hour of sorrow. I pray for the swift recovery of the injured,” he added.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, expressing condolences, demanded the State government to initiate a high-level probe into the stampede and said the government should make arrangements to take care of all those injured in the incident.
