Centre cancels on-site probe into Tirupati incidents after backlash
What's the story
The Central Government has withdrawn its decision to hold an on-site investigation into recent incidents at Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh.
The reversal comes after widespread opposition which was triggered by the announcement of the probe, seen as unprecedented.
The incidents under scrutiny included a stampede-like situation on January 8 and a fire accident on January 13.
Probe reversal
Home Ministry's initial probe plan and subsequent cancelation
The Ministry of Home Affairs had first tasked Additional Secretary Sanjeev Kumar Jindal to head the probe into these incidents.
However, this faced a lot of opposition as reports of the Centre's unprecedented intervention in the affairs of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) circulated on social media.
The backlash resulted in Jindal's visit being canceled, a decision that was conveyed by the ministry to the TTD Executive Officer.
Incident overview
Details of the incidents at Tirumala
The January 8 stampede took place near the Vaikuntha Dwara Darshan ticketing centers in Tirupati, where over 4,000 devotees had assembled to get tokens for a special "darshan" event. It claimed six lives and left several injured.
Five days later, a fire erupted at the Tirumala laddu counter, triggering panic among devotees.
The fire was suspected to have been caused by a short circuit in the UPS system connected to a computer setup at Counter No. 47.