A stampede-like situation erupted at the Nagchandreshwar Mandir in Madhya Pradesh's temple town of Ujjain that left at least three people injured, said officials on Monday. The development comes after a huge crowd gathered at the temple to offer prayers this morning in the holy month of Shravan.
The crowd gathered at the temple after offering prayers at the Shree Harsiddhi Mata Shaktipeeth Temple and the Shree Bada Ganesh Mandir, leading to the incident that caused a chaos and triggered panic among the people. Three people were left injured, said officials, after they pushed and crushed by the crowd.
They have been taken to the district hospital where they were provided medical assistance.
"This occurred at Harsiddhi Chauraha. He came under a barricade when he was going for a darshan at Nath Chandreshwar Mandir. A stampede had broken out there. Nobody helped him. Only one man carried him here," a woman named Meenu, whose son was injured, told news agency ANI.
Multiple photos and videos from the site have surfaced that showed the massive crowd that had gathered at the temple earlier this morning. Senior officials, including the police, have now arrived at the spot to bring the situation under control.
It is not clear what actually caused the stampede, but it could be attributed to the large crowd that gathered there; although an official statement will likely be released following an investigation.
The Lakhisarai tragedy
The incident at the Nagchandreshwar Temple happened just hours after a similar tragedy unfolded at the Ashokdham Temple in Bihar's Lakhisarai in which seven people lost their lives, while many others were injured. The stampede-like situation in Lakhisarai occurred due to the massive crowd.
According to District Magistrate (DM) Shailendra Kumar, a barricading broke on one side due to the large crowd that caused the incident. Further, a live electricity wife fell on people that triggered panic and chaos, ultimately causing the seven deaths.
The situation was later brought under control.
"At least seven women devotees died, and 14 others were injured in the stampede near Ashok Dham halt railway station in Lakhisarai on Monday morning," Kumar told news agency PTI.
With inputs from Prem Dodiya.
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