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Devotees’ belongings like clothes, blankets and backpacks seen strewn around the spot where a stampede broke out on Mauni Amavasya during the Mahakumbh Mela, at Sangam in Prayagraj, on January 29, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI
At least 82 people were killed in four incidents of stampede at Maha Kumbh in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj on January 29, against the State government’s official claim of 37 deaths, a report by BBC News Hindi claimed.
The report said the families of at least 26 victims were given bundles of ₹5 lakh each by Uttar Pradesh government officials but their names were not counted among those who died in the stampede.
The kin of 37 others who were officially declared dead were given a compensation of ₹25 lakh each through cheques or in their bank accounts.
Several families from across the country told the BBC that they were made to sign on papers which said their family member has died due to sudden fall in health. They shared photographs of cash bundles and the letters they were made to sign by Uttar Pradesh government officials. The BBC met at least 19 other families who have not been paid any compensation at all.
Panic due to a changing-room gate falling on devotees led to near stampede says DIG; survivors recount harrowing experience
Multiple casualties are feared after a “stampede-like” situation broke out at the Sangam on Wednesday amid the ongoing Maha Kumbh, as millions of pilgrims gathered for a holy bath on Mauni Amavasya.
Around 2 am, the blaring sirens of ambulances and police vehicles rushing to the Sangam pierced through the continuous chants of mantras and shlokas echoing from loudspeakers across the Kumbh Mela area.
| Video Credit:
Businessline
The Uttar Pradesh government is yet to officially release the names of the 37 victims whose deaths have been acknowledged.
The report said that among the dead was K.N. Vasudevacharya, a retired school principal and the younger brother of former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue K.N. Govindacharya. The report said his body was initially declared “unclaimed” but was later brought to Varanasi and cremated after intervention by a Bharatiya Janata Party functionary.
Maha Kumbh: Casualties feared after barrier breaks at the Sangam; PM Modi speaks to U.P. CM Yogi
Multiple casualties are feared after a “stampede-like” situation broke out at the Maha Kumbh on January 29, 2025, as a large number of pilgrims reached the sacred Triveni Sangam to take a holy bath on Mauni Amavasya.
| Video Credit:
The Hindu
Reacting to the report, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav accused the Uttar Pradesh government of lying about the death toll and said those who provide “false statistics” were not worthy of public trust.
In a post on X, Mr. Yadav said, “Why was compensation paid in cash? What was the source of the cash? Where did the undistributed cash go? Under which rule was cash distribution approved? Who authorised the cash payments? Is there any written order backing the disbursement?”
Published – June 11, 2025 12:15 am IST
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The Hindu
