Eyewitness describes Bihar stampede Chaos: ‘There Was a Brawl’

At least seven people have died and nine others were injured in a stampede at Baba Siddhanath Temple in Bihar on Monday morning. The tragedy occurred at the Vanavar hill in the Makhdumpur block area. Eyewitness Manoj, who was present just before the stampede, recounted the scene, explaining that the chaos began after a brawl involving a flower seller. Manoj, who suffered minor injuries, criticized the lack of effective administration, suggesting that better crowd control could have prevented the fight and the ensuing stampede. He narrowly escaped, stating that had he been there for another minute, he could have been among the fatalities.

The injured were rushed to hospitals in Makhdumpur and Jehanabad. Jehanabad District Magistrate Alankrita Pandey reported that the situation is now under control. She mentioned that the DM and SP are on-site assessing the aftermath. The authorities are working to identify the deceased and arrange post-mortem examinations.

This incident follows a similar disaster in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras on July 2, where over 120 people died in a stampede during a religious event. The police reported that more than 250,000 devotees had gathered for the ‘Satsang’ conducted by Baba Narayan Hari, despite the event’s official approval being for only 80,000 people.