Saturday, February 7, 2026
ADVT 
India

Toll in Patna stampede rises to 33, probe begins

Darpan News Desk IANS, 04 Oct, 2014 09:25 AM
    The toll in a stampede after the burning of the Ravana effigy at the Gandhi Maidan here rose to 33 Saturday after the death of a child, an official said.
     
    "The condition of at least five seriously injured people is critical," a Patna district official said.
     
    Thirty-two people, including women and children, had died in the stampede Friday evening. 
     
    Bihar Police said 29 people are seriously injured and undergoing treatment at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) here.
     
    Additional Director General of Police Gupteshwar Pandey said that he, along with Principal Home Secretary Amir Shubani, visited the spot to inquire into the cause of the stampede.
     
    "We have formally began an inquiry into the cause of the stampede that resulted in deaths of so many people, mostly women and children," Pandey told reporters.
     
    Pandey said police have been scanning the CCTV footage also.
     
    Water Resources Minister Vijay Choudhary said the state government would take action against officials if they are found guilty. "Action would be initiated after the inquiry," he said.
     
    In view of the incident, Urban Development Minister Samrat Choudhary has cancelled his England visit.
     
    Meanwhile, a group of angry people Saturday protested at the Ramghulam square near Gandhi Maidan. They attacked and damaged half a dozen vehicles, forcing police to resort to lathi charge to disperse them.
     
    Additional security forces have been deployed to deal with protestors.
     
    "Rapid Action Force and Bihar Military Police were deployed at Gandhi Maidan and nearby areas...," a police official said.
     
    Health Minister Ramdhani Singh visited the PMCH and met injured people.
     
    According to district officials, rumours that a live high tension wire had fallen to the ground led to the stampede.
     
    Patna District Magistrate Manish Kumar Verma and Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj at a joint press meet here Saturday ruled out administrative lapses.
     
    "Most of the people died due to suffocation and breathlessness during stampede," Verma said.
     
    Both claimed that four gates of Gandhi Maidan were opened and there was adequate arrangement.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Anguish of BJP's Grand Old Man: Modi sends Advani, party's old guard into exile?

    Anguish of BJP's Grand Old Man: Modi sends Advani, party's old guard into exile?
    In the Hindu way of life, old age entails exile from home and hearth. As the Manu Smriti says, when a man sees "his skin wrinkled and his hair gray...

    Anguish of BJP's Grand Old Man: Modi sends Advani, party's old guard into exile?

    India's veto doesn't mean collapse of global trade talks

    India's veto doesn't mean collapse of global trade talks
    India's demand for concessions on food subsidy as a quid quo pro to a pact to simplify procedures on global commerce may have blocked the first....

    India's veto doesn't mean collapse of global trade talks

    58 Indian nurses returning home from Libya

    58 Indian nurses returning home from Libya
    Days after India rescued 49 nurses from Iraq, 58 Indian nurses from violence-hit Libya are on their way back to India, the government said Friday....

    58 Indian nurses returning home from Libya

    Modi's Nepalese protege to accompany him to Nepal

    Modi's Nepalese protege to accompany him to Nepal
    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be accompanied by a Nepalese youth who has been living with him for the past 16 years on his Nepal visit....

    Modi's Nepalese protege to accompany him to Nepal

    Indian educational system broken somewhere: Writer Chetan Bhagat

    Indian educational system broken somewhere: Writer Chetan Bhagat
    Celebrated writer Chetan Bhagat feels that the college cutoffs should not bog one down because hard work can also take people places, adding...

    Indian educational system broken somewhere: Writer Chetan Bhagat

    HSGPC Row: Won't tolerate move to control Haryana gurdwaras warns Badal

    HSGPC Row: Won't tolerate move to control Haryana gurdwaras warns Badal
    Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Friday warned that the move to take control of Haryana gurdwaras from the SGPC will not be tolerated....

    HSGPC Row: Won't tolerate move to control Haryana gurdwaras warns Badal