Stampede kills 10 devotees

A bathing ritual for thousands of Hindu pilgrims in Narayanganj turned into a tragedy when 10 devotees were killed and at least 20 injured in a stampede yesterday morning.

Of the dead, eight were aged 50 and above, and seven were women, Assistant Superintendent of Police in Narayanganj Forkan Sikder told The Daily Star.    

Hindu devotees have been taking a ritual bath every year in the Brahmaputra river for over a century now. The ritual site stretches over 3.5 kilometres area along the river at Langalbandh, reports our Narayanganj correspondent.

About eight to 10 lakh devotees thronged the site this year, according to police and other sources.

Locals said the incident happened on the road leading to Rajghat, the most revered ghat at the site. As this ghat usually sees the largest crowd of devotees, the road linking the bridge to the ghat was overcrowded.

They said rumours that the bailey bridge, 50-foot long and 12-foot wide, was collapsing triggered the stampede around 8:45am. Panic-stricken crowd ran back towards the ghat, trampling many underfoot.

The stampede lasted for about 30 minutes, reports our Narayanganj correspondent.

Mujibor Rahman, an owner of a book shop at the site, claimed a man abruptly fell on the bridge. A few others then came forward to help him stand up, creating an obstacle to the huge flow of crowd and it was then the rumour was spread.

Terming the stampede the "worst incident ever" in many decades, minority leaders alleged that the rumour was spread by local pickpockets and muggers to rob devotees of their ornaments and money. They also claimed the tragedy resulted from utter mismanagement by the authorities concerned and the indifference of law enforcers. 

Bangladesh Puja Udjapon Parishad President Kajal Devnath alleged that the stampede was planned by petty local criminals who had been on the lookout for creating a chaos at the site every now and then since the morning.

A gold bangle worn by one of the deceased was reported to have gone missing, said Kajal who visited the scene after the stampede occurred.

Though ASP Forkan claimed that police did their best to prevent the tragedy from taking place, witnesses and victims said nobody was seen to discipline the crowd milling around the place.

Hindu leaders have long demanded protection from petty local criminals during the ritual, said Kajal.

Land encroachers have narrowed down the festival site by setting up business establishments along the river, he added.

“Beggars and makeshift shops set up for the festival shrank the space further,” said Kajal.

Police said they informed the district administration about the rickety bridge. They said the stampede was caused by an unprecedented surge of devotees, which made it impossible for them to control the crowd.

Minority leaders demanded that footage from the CCTV cameras around the site be scrutinised to find out what actually happened.

“The stampede did not happen suddenly. It was caused by the greed of land grabbers and petty thieves, and the indifference of law enforcement agencies,” said Kajal.

Local MP Selim Osman has directed law enforcers to investigate the stampede thoroughly, said a senior police official wishing anonymity.

The dead are Bhagabati Das, 48; Rani Das, 25; Tulsi Devnath, 55; Suchitra Rani Saha, 70; Kakon Saha, 50; Ranjit Nandi, 52; Nakul Chandra Ghose; Nitya Das Dhopa, 55; Bhanumati, 60 and Maloti Das, 65.