Toll feared to rise over 100 in temple stampede in MP

False rumours led to the stampede at the Ratangarh temple where the people feared dead were mostly women and children.

The death toll in the Ratangarh temple stampede is steadily rising by the hour. At least 115 are feared dead in the temple tragedy. The toll is likely to increase as many pilgrims were critically injured and some were missing after falling off the bridge.

Earlier, eighty nine people, including 31 women and 17 children, were reported killed and over 100 injured in a stampede during Navratri festivities near a temple in Madhya Pradesh's Datia district after rumours that a bridge the devotees were crossing was about to collapse.

"89 people were killed in the stampede on the bridge over Sindh river leading to the temple at Ratangarh, where lakhs of devotees had congregated, following rumours by some unidentified persons that it was collapsing," Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Chambal Range, D K Arya told PTI.

The state government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the mishap.

The festivities turned into a tragedy as the devotees from Datia and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh thronged the Durga temple to offer prayers on the occasion of Navratri at Ratangarh, about 60 kms from district headquarters here and around 320 kms away from the state capital.

Unconfirmed reports said that the stampede took place as some people were trying to jump the queue and police used batons to control them.

Arya said nearly 100 people have been injured in the mishap and they have been rushed to nearby hospitals.

Heart-rending scenes were witnessed as anxious relatives searced for their loved ones from the large number of bodies that lay on the bridge.

The irate crowd, protesting over the incident, pelted stones and clashed with the cops following which police used mild lathicharge to disperse them.

Amid the chaos, police and local volunteers had a tough time to bring the situation under control.

A sub divisional police officer suffered serious injuries after being hit by stones, the DIG said, adding that some other policemen were also injured.

The situation has been brought under control, Arya said.

The state government, with the approval of the State Election Commission in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 1.5 lakh to the kin of those killed in the stampede.

The government also announced an assistance of Rs 50,000 each to the seriously injured and Rs 25,000 each for those who suffered minor injuries in the mishap.

Our reporter Abhinandan Mishra from Bhopal says the toll in the Ratangarh temple stampede in Datia district is feared to reach 100.

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