Seven killed in stampede at temple ceremony in eastern India

Incident comes just over a month after a crowd crush at a religious event killed 121 people in Uttar Pradesh

At least seven pilgrims died and 16 were injured after a stampede at a temple in eastern India on Sunday, reviving memories of a devastating crowd crush at a religious event that killed more than 100 people in June.

The devotees were gathered at the Baba Sidheshwar Nath temple in Jehanabad district in the state of Bihar for a consecration ceremony.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar expressed grief over the tragedy and announced Rs 400,000 (£3,727) in compensation for each of the families of the victims, six of whom were women.

The stampede was reportedly sparked by a fight between a flower seller outside the temple and a group of devotees.

National Cadet Corps volunteers deployed for security at the temple used batons to control the escalating crush but it quickly got out of hand, NDTV quoted witnesses as saying.

“This happened due to the negligence of the police administration,” a devotee charged.

A witness identified only as Manoj told local media that there was a brawl and many of the devotees were trapped in the melee.

“Had I been stuck there for a minute or two more, I would have died,” Manoj, who was injured in the incident, said. “Police were nowhere to be seen at the spot, even though they were deployed along the route. Had the administration worked well, the flower seller would not have picked a fight.”

The cause of the fight was still under investigation.

The stampede is the latest such incident to put a spotlight on the lack of crowd management at temples and religious events in the country.

At least 121 people were killed in a stampede after hundreds of thousands of people gathered for a religious event led by a Hindu preacher in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh on 2 June. The programme reportedly had permission to have far fewer people than eventually turned up, leading to the deadliest crowd crush in recent years.