At least six persons died and 28 were injured, five of them sustaining serious injuries, in a stampede near the Mansa Devi temple in Haridwar on Sunday morning. Conflicting reports cite different factors which led to the mishap. Following the tragedy, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident while announcing `two lakh for the next of kin of those who died and `50,000 each for the injured.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed grief at the loss of lives in the stampede. Officials said, a large number of devotees were walking towards Mansa Devi temple when the police received information about a stampede on the stairs leading to the temple at 9 am.
Rescue teams reached the site of the mishap shortly, retrieving the bodies and transporting the injured to the hospital. While six persons were confirmed dead, 28 persons were injured with five of them sustaining serious injuries. The seriously injured were admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh.
The Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police Pramendra Singh Dobal said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the stampede started on the stairs about 100 metres below the temple due to a rumour about broken electricity wires causing electrocution.
According to the State Emergency Operations Centre, the six persons who died include four from Uttar Pradesh and one each from Bihar and Uttarakhand while the injured persons hail from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and Delhi.
Garhwal commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey, who also reached the site of the incident, told media persons that a magisterial inquiry has been ordered by the CM. He said that there are varying reports circulating on the cause of the stampede. The magisterial inquiry will ascertain the actual cause of the mishap and strict action will be taken against anyone found responsible, he said.
STAMPEDES-CASUALTY-LIST
June 4, 2025: An RCB parade in celebration of the maiden IPL win, leaving 11 people dead and several injured in a stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
May 3, 2025: Six people died and around 100 people were injured in the stampede during an annual festival of Sri Lairai Devi temple at Shirgao village in Goa.
February 15, 2025: Eighteen people, including women and children, died in a stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station. They were waiting to board the train to Prayagraj for Maha Kumbh.
January 29, 2025: Thirty people were killed and 60 were injured at a stampede at the Sangam area of the Maha Kumbh as millions of pilgrims jostled for space to participate in ‘Amrit Snan’.
January 8, 2025: Six devotees were killed and dozens were injured in a stampede as hundreds of them jostled for tickets for Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam at Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirumala Hills.
December 4, 2024: A 35-year-old woman died and a boy was injured at Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad in a stampede where Allu Arjun’s blockbuster ‘Pushpa 2’ was screened.
July 2, 2024: Between 100 and 120 people, including women and children, were killed after a stampede broke out at a ‘satsang’ (prayer meeting) organised by a self-styled godman, Bhole Baba aka Narayan Saakar Hari, in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras.
March 31, 2023: Thirty-six people died when the slab constructed on top of an ancient ‘bawdi’ or well collapsed during a ‘havan’ programme held on the occasion of Ram Navami at a temple in Indore city.
January 1, 2022: Twelve people died and over a dozen were injured in a stampede at the famous Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir triggered by a heavy rush of devotees.
September 29, 2017: Twenty-three people lost their lives and 36 were injured in the stampede on the narrow bridge connecting the Elphinstone Road station of the Western Railway with Parel station of the Central Railway in Mumbai.
July 14, 2015: Twenty-seven pilgrims died and 20 others were injured in a stampede at a major bathing spot on the banks of the Godavari river where a huge crowd of devotees had gathered on the opening day of the ‘Pushkaram’ festival in Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh
October 3, 2014: Thirty-two people were killed and 26 others injured in a stampede at Gandhi Maidan in Patna, shortly after the Dussehra celebrations ended.
October 13, 2013: 115 people were killed and over 100 injured in a stampede during the Navratri festivities near Ratangarh temple in Madhya Pradesh’s Datia district. The stampede was triggered by rumours that a river bridge the devotees were crossing was about to collapse.
November 19, 2012: Eighteen people were killed and many others injured as a makeshift bridge caved in, triggering a stampede during the Chhath Puja at Adalat Ghat on one of the banks of the Ganga River in Patna.
November 8, 2011: Twenty people were killed in a stampede in Haridwar at Har-ki-Pauri ghat on the banks of the Ganga river.
January 14, 2011: A stampede caused by a jeep crashing into pilgrims at Pulmedu in Kerala’s Idukki district left 104 Sabarimala devotees dead and over 40 injured.
March 4, 2010: Sixty-three people were killed in a stampede at Ram Janki Temple of Kripalu Maharaj in Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh district as people gathered to collect free clothes and food from the self-styled godman.
September 30, 2008: Between 220 and 250 devotees were killed and over 60 injured in a stampede triggered by rumours of a bomb going off at Chamunda Devi temple in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur city.
August 3, 2008: A stampede triggered by rumours of rockslides at Naina Devi temple in Himachal Pradesh’s Bilaspur district left 162 dead and 47 injured.
January 25, 2005: Around 340 devotees were trampled to death and hundreds injured during an annual pilgrimage at Mandhardevi temple in Maharashtra’s Satara district. The accident occurred when some people fell down the steps made slippery by the devotees breaking coconuts.
August 27, 2003: Thirty-nine people were killed and around 140 injured in a stampede during the holy bath at the Kumbh Mela in Maharashtra’s Nashik district.