Nearly 100 people are feared killed and over 200 injured in a stampede near a temple at Ratangarh in Madhya Pradesh's Datia district on Sunday.
"Hundred people were killed in the stampede on the bridge over Sindh river leading to the temple at Ratangarh, where lakhs of devotees had congregated, following rumours by some unidentified persons that it was collapsing," Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Chambal Range, DK Arya said.
The stampede was caused by rumors that a bridge they were crossing was about to collapse. Earlier there was no bridge on the river leading to the Ratan Mata Temple. Devotees used boats to reach the temple. But five years ago, the MP government decided to built a bridge after over 100 people drowned in the river when their boat capsized.
The incident occurred when a large number of devotees arrived from Datia and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh at the Durga temple at Ratangarh, about 60 km from district headquarters, Arya said.Nearly 200 people have been injured in the mishap and they have been admitted in nearby hospitals, he said.
An eyewitness said police personnel used batons to control the surging crowd and this led to the crowd stampeding.
In the stampede, some of the devotees are feared to have fallen off the bridge into the river flowing below.
Deputy Inspector General of Police D.K. Arya said he did not have exact details of the victims so far but was proceeding to the accident site.
Datia legislator Narottam Mishra, who is also the state government spokesman, said the stampede did not occur due to alleged police baton charge, but following a rumour that the bridge was collapsing. He said he was on way to Ratangarh to oversee the rescue operation.
Datia is about 390 km from state capital Bhopal.
Meanwhile, police resorted to mild lathicharge to control an angry crowd which pelted stones at the cops.
A sub-divisional police officer suffered serious injuries after being hit by stones, the DIG said. Some other policemen were also injured.
The state government, with the approval of the State Election Commission, has announced an ex-gratia of Rs.1.5 lakh to the kin of those killed in the stampede.
The government also announced an assistance of Rs.50,000 each to the seriously injured and Rs.25,000 each for those who suffered minor injuries in the mishap.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed grief over the tragedy.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi has also expressed shock and deep anguish over the tragic incident of deaths and injuries of devotees in Ratangarh in Datia District of Madhya Pradesh.
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