Lucknow: Several women fainted and were injured during a stampede at a Raksha Bandhan event organised by Bareilly Mayor and Uttar Pradesh BJP leader Dr Umesh Gautam. One woman, identified as Madhu Singh, later died during treatment, according to her family.
Around 20,000 women had reportedly been invited to the Raksha Bandhan programme held at the Bareilly Club Ground on Thursday evening. The venue was packed beyond capacity, particularly after bad weather and rain forced most attendees to gather inside the pandal set up on the club premises. As the crowd swelled, organisers struggled to maintain queues and control the gathering.
ThePrint has learnt that the situation turned chaotic when gift bags began being distributed from the stage. What began as a rush turned into a stampede as scores of women moved forward to collect the gifts, with several falling on top of one another to save themselves. Women allegedly crossed barricades and moved towards the stage.
Eyewitness Neelima alleged that adequate arrangements had not been made to manage such a large gathering. Speaking to ThePrint, she said “Thousands of women were invited, but there were no proper arrangements to handle such a huge crowd. There was not even drinking water in such heat. There was no-one inside the pandal to assist the women, and elderly women suffered the most.”
Preeti, another eyewitness, said broken bangles and slippers were seen scattered across the venue, while several children were separated from their families in the chaos. Repeated announcements had to be made from the stage to help reunite children with their relatives.
Several women reportedly fainted and were taken to nearby hospitals. One of them, identified as Madhu Singh, later died during treatment on Friday morning.
One another eyewitness who wants to remain anonymous said, “The event was organised Mayor Umesh Gautam and his son Parth a day before Raksha Bandhan. As the crowd near the stage continued to swell, Gautam reportedly attempted to intervene and manage the situation. His son was sent to the main gate to make separate arrangements for women to tie rakhis. However, the pressure of the crowd did not ease, with women continuing to push forward amid the heat and humidity.
“While we were tying rakhis, there was suddenly a strong push from behind. My child almost slipped from my hands and fell. My mother-in-law was also pushed and fell unconscious. The situation inside was such that we could not understand how to get out,” she said.
Amid the chaos, some women also alleged that their mobile phones, purses, cash and gold chains were stolen. They claimed that unidentified persons took advantage of the jostling and confusion to steal their belongings.
Madhu Singh’s nephew, Raja Tomar, a BJP worker, said he had brought his aunt to the programme at around 10 am before leaving for work as a school auto driver. “She was accompanied by other women from our locality. Later I received a call saying that her health had deteriorated due to the stampede-like situation and that she had been taken to Mission Hospital at Chowki Chauraha in Bareilly,” he said.
According to a relative, Madhu was admitted to hospital, but the family struggled to get information about her condition. A family member, Lata Devi, alleged that they repeatedly requested hospital staff for updates but did not receive any response.
Raja said the mayor had provided him with 15 passes for the event, through which Madhu had attended the programme. He alleged that she fell during the rush and her condition subsequently deteriorated.
As of now, Umesh Gautam has not issued any statement specifically addressing the stampede like situation or the woman’s death. ThePrint tried to reach him but he did not respond. Speaking to ThePrint, BJP’s Bareilly district unit president Sompal Sharma said, “That was the mayor’s personal event. The party has no connection with it. We also learned about the incident through social media and were not present at the spot.”
In a social media post, however, the mayor celebrated the successful organisation of the Raksha Bandhan event and thanked the women who attended. “Today, I had the good fortune of celebrating a grand Raksha Bandhan programme on the soil of Bareilly with more than 20,000 mothers and sisters,” Gautam wrote.
Calling Raksha Bandhan a symbol of the unbreakable bond of affection, trust, respect and protection between brothers and sisters, he said he was overwhelmed by the love and blessings received from thousands of women. He further thanked the women of Bareilly for making the occasion memorable through their affection and trust, adding that their blessings were his greatest strength.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)