The death toll from a stampede at a Hindu religious congregation in northern India has risen to 121, out of which 108 are women and seven children.
According to a police report, the number present was triple the capacity allowed, Reuters reported.
The stampede occurred on Tuesday in a village in the Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh state, just 200 km southeast of New Delhi.
As per reports, the government had granted permission for 80,000 people to gather; however, around 250,000 people attended the event.
The incident occurred when the religious preacher, also known as ‘Bhole Baba’, was leaving in his car. Thousands of devotees ran behind the car, shouting his name, causing them to topple over the ones sitting. Some people also fell into an adjacent field of slush and mud, leading to them getting trampled there.
According to the local media, the police are in search of the preacher.
The witnesses to the event reported that people fell on top of each other as they tumbled down a slope into a water-logged ditch.
Deadly incidents are common at places of worship during major religious festivals in India, the biggest of which prompt millions of devotees to make pilgrimages to holy sites.
A police officer on duty, Sheela Maurya, said that “everyone—the entire crowd, including women and children—all left from the event site at once. “There wasn´t enough space, and everyone just fell on top of each other.”
