‘A large crowd entered the queue’: Witness recounts chaos during Bihar temple stampede

At 6:40 am, Manmala Devi and her daughter had been waiting in line for over an hour at the Ashok Dham temple in Bihar's Lakhisarai district. The 44-year-old resident had visited the temple regularly during the Hindu month of Sawan. As a large number of devotees got off the train and joined the queue, the pressure increased, leading to the stampede, according to Manmala.

She fainted and succumbed to the crush, while her daughter sustained minor injuries. Seven women, all worshippers, were killed in the incident near Ashok Dham Halt, while 25 others were injured. An initial rumor spread that an electricity pole had fallen and live current was spreading nearby, triggering panic among the crowd. However, officials clarified that the pole was in a field with a covered cable.

The rumor led to the breaking of barricades, causing people to trample over one another. The other deceased women were identified as Rinku Devi, Hemlata Devi, Lalita Devi, Savita Devi, Saroj Devi, and Savitri Devi. Three injured women have been taken to Patna Medical College and Hospital. Relatives criticized the temple's crowd management, stating that the administration should have prepared adequately for the large gathering on the third Monday of Sawan.

The district administration paid ex-gratia compensation of Rs 4 lakh to each deceased person's family and arranged medical treatment for the injured. A three-member inquiry committee has been formed to investigate the stampede. Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed condolences through social media, with the Chief Minister calling the incident "extremely sad and heart-rending."

The Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, blamed inadequate security arrangements and crowd management, accusing the NDA government of administrative mismanagement.