3 Killed In Rath Yatra Stampede, Odisha CM Apologises

Three persons, two of them women, died, and 11 others were injured in a stampede during the Rath Yatra in Odisha's Puri. The incident occurred when the three Raths carrying idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Goddess Shubhadra were near Shree Gundicha Temple, about three kilometers from Jagannath temple, where the Yatra began.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Manjhi sought forgiveness from devotees of Lord Jagannath for this tragedy. He announced an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh each to the next of kin of the devotees who lost their lives in the tragic incident and ordered a full-fledged administrative inquiry to determine the cause and accountability of the incident.

Around 4.30 am today, the holy chariots were at the Gundicha temple and a large crowd had gathered for a darshan. As the crowd swelled, some people fell and a stampede began. Three people died on the spot. These include two women, Prabhati Das and Basanti Sahu, and 70-year-old Premakant Mohanty. All three, it is learnt, are from Khurda district and had come to Puri for the Rath Yatra.

Local media reported that the police's arrangement for crowd control at the spot was inadequate. The condition of some of those injured is critical, according to reports.

Puri Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain said the bodies of the victims had been sent for autopsy and the examination would reveal the exact cause of death. He said adequate security arrangements were in place, but the crowd suddenly went out of control, leading to the tragedy.

Hours after the incident, both the Collector and Puri police chief Vinit Agrawal were replaced.