Nalanda temple stampede: 4 priests arrested, FIR lodged against 40

Nalanda: Authorities have initiated several actions following the stampede at the Sheetla Mata Temple at Maghra village under Deepnagar police station area in Nalanda district on Tuesday morning that left at least nine devotees dead and several others injured.Holding the temple committee largely responsible for the tragic incident, the police on late Tuesday evening lodged an FIR against present temple committee officials, priests and many others.In a late Tuesday night raid, the police arrested four temple priests, including Ajay Kumar Panday, Awadh Kishor Mishra, Vivekanand Pandey and Niranjan Kumar Panday. Raids were being conducted to arrest other named and unnamed accused persons.

Cases have been lodged against around 40 people for the alleged mismanagement and violation of safety norms during the religious gathering.Four police personnel posted at Deepnagar police station were also suspended.Nalanda SP Bharat Soni had suspended Deepnagar SHO Rajmani on Tuesday evening.A number of local residents accused police of implicating innocent persons in the FIR lodged by the police.The Bihar Nyas Board chairperson Ranveer Nandan, who visited the Sheetla Mata temple on Wednesday, directed authorities to investigate the matter properly and punish those found guilty.

Speaking to reporters he said, “Prima facie it appears that the temple management committee was more responsible for the tragic incident as they had not properly put things in place anticipating a large crowd of devotees.” Warning the present committee officials, he said, if things did not improve in next six months, then he would take measures to ensure the committee was dissolved.State minister for rural development and transport Shrawan Kuman visited the hospital and assured the injured persons all help.DGP Vinay Kumar, ADG Kundan Krishnan among other police officials who visited the place of occurence on Tuesday evening expressed their anger over the poor management by the temple committee.The incident occurred during heavy rush for prayers on the last Tuesday of the Chaitra month when thousands of devotees gathered at the temple. According to officials, the situation turned chaotic after a sudden surge of devotees near the temple entrance, leading to a stampede.Within an hour after the incident, district administration and police teams rushed to the spot and launched rescue operations. The injured were shifted to nearby hospitals, including the sadar hospital in Biharsharif in ambulance, which reportedly arrived at least 40 minutes after the incident. Local residents also assisted in shifting the injured.The state govt has ordered a high-level inquiry to ascertain the circumstances that led to the tragedy.

A special investigation team has been tasked with examining crowd management arrangements, police deployment and the role of temple organisers.Preliminary findings pointed to serious lapses in crowd control. Senior police officials admitted that inadequate deployment of security personnel contributed to the mishap.Authorities said steps are being planned to strengthen crowd management and safety arrangements during major religious events to prevent such incidents in the future.