4 injured in stampede at religious event in UP's Meerut
A stampede broke out at a religious gathering led by Pandit Pradeep Mishra in Shatabdi Nagar, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, on Friday. The incident took place around 1:00pm when private security personnel attempted to stop women from entering the venue, the Hindustan Times reported. ABP News reported that four people have been injured in the stampede.
Visuals from the event
Religious event draws massive crowds daily
The religious event, which was on its sixth day, had been drawing nearly one lakh people every day. This isn't the first time a stampede has marred a religious gathering in Uttar Pradesh. In July, a similar incident occurred during a satsang of self-styled godman Surajpal alias Bhole Baba in Phulrai village, Hathras district. The tragedy killed around 121 people, mostly women and children.
Previous stampede tragedy in Hathras district
The Hathras stampede happened when the crowd rushed to touch Baba's feet while he was leaving, causing people to topple over each other. About 2.5 lakh people attended the event, far more than the allowed gathering size of 80,000. Police investigation into the Hathras incident blamed mismanagement by organizers for the tragedy. Baba, a former UP police staffer who retired voluntarily in 1990 to follow spirituality, enjoys a massive following among lower middle-class and poor communities in parts of UP.
