A day after tragedy marred Dussehra celebrations at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan, the death toll climbed to 33, even as the district administration sought to attribute suffocation as the cause of death. Chief Minister Jitan Manjhi faced flak from all political parties with Central Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan demanding his resignation for failing to learn any lessons from the past when a similar tragedy struck the State during the Chhath celebrations two years ago.
Till Friday, when reports last came in, 32 persons were reported dead in the stampede that took place a little after the Ravan-dahan while 29 suffered injuries. Principal Secretary Home, Amir Subhani said that one of the injured person succumbed to injuries on Saturday taking the casualty toll to 33. Subhani along with Additional Director General of Police (Headquarters) Gupteshwar Pandey have been appointed to inquire into the stampede incident.
He reported the condition of four out of 28 injured to be critical. They are currently undergoing treatment at Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH). Of the admitted patients, 17 are women and 12 men, Subhani said, indicating his initial probe following a visit to the incident spot on Saturday noon.
Facing flak for poor handling at the Gandhi Maidan, Patna district administration was quick to deny lapses and blamed “suffocation” due to the huge gathering of people for Dusshera celebrations as the cause for deaths. “People appear to have died due to suffocation,” District Magistrate Manish Kumar Verma told reporters outside PMCH. He dismissed allegations that gates of Gandhi Maidan were kept closed. “Gates were not closed. All the four gates including the one for VIPs were open... This can be seen in CCTV footage which cannot lie,” he asserted. On the dim lighting issue, he shifted the blame to the Puja Committee.
Senior Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj, echoing the DM, attributed the tragedy to ‘asphyxiation’. From the CCTV footage he said, “light was dim as the high mast light was not functioning near Ramgulam chowk...CCTV footage due to poor light is not conclusive.” He denied lathi-charge by police, which the eyewitnesses alleged had triggered the stampede. However, he did not rule out a ‘conspiracy’. “We are checking how far the falling of an electric wire or a ditch in which the feet of some people were trapped caused panic among crowd are true,” Maharaj said.
Principal in-charge of PMCH Khursheed Alam, who is supervising the treatment of the stampede victims, claimed the deaths had happened due to asphyxia (suffocation) and crust injuries.
The tragedy struck at around 7 pm Friday that started at the South East corner of the ground near the Exhibition road. People returning after watching the Ravan Vadh (killing of demon king) event jostled with each other to move ahead, eyewitnesses and officials said. An estimate of over a lakh persons were present at the historic Gandhi Maidan. As crowds were making their way through dimly lit patches of the ground, chaos broke out that led to a sudden stampede. Children and women bore the brunt of the tragedy with lifeless bodies of 21 women and 10 minors including seven girls being carried out from the ground.
The scene outside PMCH was heart-rending with several people wailing and waiting in the hope of finding their near and dear ones. Efforts are on to trace several persons reported missing. Additional police force was deployed at the incident site near Ramgulam Chowk a day after the incident.
While Centre assured all help to the Bihar Government to deal with the stampede tragedy in Patna, Union law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Union Consumer and Food Supplies Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, on their visit to the State took jab at the State’s poor handling of the incident and squarely blamed the State administration for its lapse leading to 33 deaths.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh telephoned Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Saturday morning and promised all help including medical assistance and asked him to provide medical treatment to the injured. “The Bihar Chief Minister apprised me of the latest developments,” Singh later tweeted. But Prasad described the tragedy as “regrettable and shameful”. He said, “There was a stampede during Chhath puja in 2012 and bomb explosions during Narendra Modi’s rally in October last year. Still no proper arrangements were made by the state.” Paswan later told reporters, “There was no security, no lighting, one gate was open while more than five lakh people were present there and the police were there only to rain lathis on the hapless people.”
RJD leader lalu Prasad, who supports the Manjhi Government, said it was an “administrative lapse” and that there were no foolproof crowd control measures despite past incidents. Paswan claimed the State Government was “insensitive” and solely responsible for this incident. He is expected to submit a report to Union Home Minister and Prime Minister on his return.