MULUGU: In a tragic incident, two devotees suffocated to death, crushed in the swirling mass of devotees trying to reach the altar of tribal deity Samakka in Medaram late on Thursday. According to authorities overseeing the arrangements, devotees waiting for the arrival of the deity at the altar surged forward and one B Ramchander, 52, was trapped in the midst of the crowd.
Though his family members kept shouting for help and trying to alert the ‘rope party’ -- the police personnel designated to keep the crowd in check -- by the time Ramchander was rescued and shifted to the medical camp, about 15 minutes elapsed. Doctors at the medical camp declared that he was brought dead.
Speaking to the media, Mulugu District Medical and Health Officer (DM&HO) A Appaiha stated that Ramchander, resident of Godavarikhani of Peddapally district, died of a heart attack, most probably induced by suffocation.
In the wee hours of Friday, 60-year-old Diddi Lakshminarsamma, also a resident of Godavarikhani, died of a heart attack in the medical camp. According to their relatives, the two devotees had been standing in the queue for darshan but due to the crowd, they suffocated. Meanwhile, police officials said that while Ramchander died following seizures, Lakshminarsamma passed away due to cardiac arrest. The family members of the deceased staged protest, alleging that police meted out inhumane treatment at people standing in queues.