Twenty-four people were killed and over 60 injured in a stampede at Rajghat bridge on the border of Varanasi and Chandauli where a large number of people had gathered for a religious event on Saturday afternoon.
The incident occurred when thousands of followers of religious leader Jai Gurudev were on their way to Domri village on the banks of the Ganga to take part in the two-day camp, police said.
According to information, on the eve of the satsang of Adhyatmik Vaicharik Kranti of Pankaj Ji Maharaj, the devotees of Baba Jaigurudev took out shobha yatra from Parao under the auspices of Jaigurudev Adhyatmik Satsang Mahamanv Sangam. It was said that the devotees of Baba Jaigurudev were present in shobha yatra in thousands. At the same time, the common people were also passing through the bridge and thus there was traffic congestion at bridge.
In the meantime, some devotees started searching water bottles to quench their thirst because of scorching heat and it led to a stampede in which 24 persons were feared dead while several injured. All were rushed to lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital in Ramnagar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is also the MP from Varanasi, expressed anguish over the incident and asked senior officials to take stock of the situation. He also announced a solatium of `2 lakh each to the families of the deceased and `50,000 to those injured.
People in large numbers were brought for the camp by the organisers who had taken the permission only for two to three thousand devotees.
One person died due to suffocation on the bridge because of the surging crowd on the narrow Ganga bridge leading to rumours which resulted in the stampede, ADG law and order Daljit Chaudhary said.
Spokesman of Jai Gurudev Sansthan Raj Bahadur said the devotees were proceeding towards the camp, but police started sending them back though they kept on thronging the bridge. This led to rumours that the bridge ahead had collapsed leading to stampede, Raj Bahadur said, alleging there was a serious lapse on the part of the administration.