Kanpur: 1 dead, 13 injured in stampede at Panki temple

New Delhi: One person was killed and 13 others injured when a stampede broke out at a temple in Kanpur on Monday. The crowd of devotees had gathered to celebrate the Budhwa Mangal festival at the Hanuman temple of Panki, about 7 km from Kanpur, when the stampede happened. One eyewitness at the site complained of poor crowd control arrangements. The injured are presently being treated at hospital.

The doors of the 500-year-old temple were to open at 3 am on Tuesday but the devotees had started lining up since Monday night.

DIG (Kanpur) Amitabh Yash told reporters that serpentine lines were seen outside the temple since Monday night following which additional policemen were posted near the site.

The crowd of devotees had gathered to celebrate the Budhwa Mangal festival at the Hanuman temple in Panki.

Due to the heat and fatigue, some devotees fainted and a stampede soon broke out, Yash said. However, some eyewitnesses said that police used force to control the crowd which led to the stampede. The police, however, denied it.

The DIG said police used mild force to control the crowd.

(With additional information from PTI)

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