Sehore (Madhya Pradesh): Three devotees died during Kawad Yatra in Kubereshwar Dham in Sehore district on Wednesday because of sudden illness, official sources said.
After the three devotees fell ill at three different places, they were taken to the district hospital where they were declared dead. They were identified as Chaturbhai, Ishwar Singh Yadav, and Dileep Sihari, residents of Panchwal in Gujarat, Rohtak in Haryana and Raipur in Chhattisgarh, respectively.
They were caught in the crowd and died due to sudden illness, sources said. Their bodies have been kept in the mortuary. Two women died, and over 12 sustained injuries in a stampede that occurred on Tuesday.
The deceased women were identified as Jaswanti Ben, aged 56, and Sangeeta Gupta, aged 48, residents of Rajkot in Gujarat and Firozabad in UP, respectively. The stampede occurred when Rudraksha (sacred beads) were being distributed.
Traffic gridlock on Indore-Bhopal highway
Kawad Yatra caused a major traffic gridlock on the Indore-Bhopal highway on Wednesday. The traffic jam, which began Tuesday night, continued throughout Wednesday. Thousands of vehicles were stuck in the traffic gridlock, which caused troubles for the commuters.
Although the district administration banned plying heavy vehicles on the Indore-Bhopal highway because of Kawad Yatra and diverted vehicles, thousands of cars and two-wheelers snarled up there.
As the day slipped past, the number of people at Kubereshwar Dham swelled up, but neither the temple committee nor the district administration did anything to manage such a huge crowd.
HRC seeks report from collector, SP
The state Human Rights Commission, taking exception to the deaths in a stampede at Kubereshwar Dham during the distribution of Rudraksha, directed the collector and superintendent of police, Sehore, to probe the case. The HR Commission also said they should inform the commission about what steps they had taken to manage the crowd, to treat the injured, and about the financial aid given to the family members of the deceased. The commission sought the report within 15 days.
