The stampede at Maha Kumbh on the early hours of Wednesday took place because the crowd had gathered ahead of time and broke the barriers, the Uttar Pradesh police have said. Thirty people have died in the pre-dawn stampede that took place as people jostled for a dip at the confluence on Mauni Amavasya, one of the most auspicious days of the month-long religious festival.
"Before Brahma Muhurta, between 1 am to 2 am, a huge crowd gathered on the Akhara Marg," said Vaibhav Krishna, the Deputy Inspector General posted at the Mahakumbh.
"Due to this crowd, the barricades on the other side broke and the crowd ran over the devotees waiting to take a holy dip of Brahma Muhurta on the other side," he added.
One of the families that lost two of its members, however, told NDTV that the tragedy could have been averted if the barriers were opened as the crowd started building.
"If they had opened the barrier in time, this stampede would have been averted," said Jagvanti, whose family had come to the Kumbh from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh.
"The barriers did not open on time... a huge crowd came in. Nobody came to help at the time. The people were running over each other. We saw our mother and sister-In-law dying in front of our eyes," she added.
The police officer said after the stampede, 90 people were taken to the hospital.
Of the 30 who died, 25 have been identified. Those yet to be identified include four persons from Karnataka, one from Assam and one from Gujarat.
Thirty-six people are being treated at the local medical college.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced a three-member judicial commission, comprising Justice Harsh Kumar, former DG VK Gupta and retired IAS officer VK Singh to look into the reasons behind the stampede. He also announced an ex gratia of Rs 25 lakh each for the families of those who died.
