Several people were injured on Friday afternoon after a stampede-like situation broke out in the Meerut area of Uttar Pradesh. The incident occurred while preacher Pradeep Mishra led a Shivmahapuran event in Shatabdi Nagar — with approximately 2.5 lakh people in attendance.
According to officials, some women had fallen amid a crowd surge near the entry gates. Meerut District Magistrate Deepak Meena, however, denied claims that some people had been trapped during the incident and insisted that the situation was currently under control.
Senior Superintendent of Police Vipin Tada told news agency PTI that officials had provided first aid to several devotees after they fell and sustained minor injuries. No casualties were reported, and officials added that adequate security forces had been deployed at the site.
Hundreds of people had gathered at the spot on Friday as preacher Pradip Mishra continued his recitation of the ‘Shiv katha’ for the sixth day. Local media reports indicate that there had been a significant uptick in devotees reaching the venue to hear him — consequently making the arrangements difficult. The pandal had reportedly been filled to capacity with many devotees also gathering outside.
“All necessary arrangements for the programme were provided as required. The arrangements and security deployment were planned in advance after an inspection of the venue by the superintendent of police and me,” said Meena.
The incident comes amid continued furore over the Sandhya theatre stampede earlier this month during a Pushpa 2 screening in Telangana. A woman was killed, and her son was critically injured as Telugu superstar Allu Arjun attended the event on December 4. The actor was later arrested and spent a night in jail before securing interim bail. The police have also arrested three individuals in connection with the case — one of the owners of the theatre, its senior manager, and the lower balcony in charge.
(With inputs from agencies)
