At least 32 people and have been killed and many more injured in a stampede during a religious festiva(Ravan Dahan)l in Patna
Authorities say the incident occurred as people celebrating the festival of Dussehra at the Gandhi Maidan in Patna rushed toward the exit gates.
And local media outlets say that an electricity cable may have fallen, causing the mass of people to panic and killing 32 people – mainly women and children – in the resulting stampede.
There were thought to be over 50,000 people in attendance.
Angry over the incident, hundred of people, including relatives of those killed and seriously injured, protested against the administration at Ramghulam square near Gandhi Maidan and outside the Patna Medical College and Hospital, where all injured were admitted for treatment.
“Protestors clashed with Rapid Action Force when they attacked a police outpost. Later they were dispersed,” said a district police official.
Pandey meanwhile downplayed allegations of mismanagement at the event in view of the huge crowd.
“This year, the arrangement was better than last time. But this unfortunate incident took place and it is to be investigated,” he said.
Local police officers, however, said that some people tried to disperse as fast as possible after the end of the event, thus creating the problem.
According to officials of the district administration, the stampede was result of the rumours that a live high tension wire had fallen on the road near the gate of the Gandhi Maidan.
Patna District Magistrate Manish Kumar Verma said that authorities are trying to save the lives of all those seriously injured, who have been admitted to the Patna Medical College and Hospital
Only last year, 115 people were killed after a stampede broke out on a bridge near the Ratangarh Mata Temple in Madhya Pradesh during the Hindu festival of Navratri.
