Woman dies in stampede at Rakshabandhan event in Bareilly

MEERUT: A 45-year-old woman died and at least three others were injured after a stampede situation broke out at a Rakshabandhan event organised by Bareilly Mayor Umesh Gautam and his son Parth Gautam at Bareilly Club ground on Thursday.

The deceased, identified as 45-year-old Madhu, wife of a former serviceman Bhagwan Singh of Chandragupt Puram on Pilibhit Bypass Road, was rushed to Mission Hospital after being critically injured in the crowd surge. She died on the way, and doctors at the hospital declared her dead on arrival. The distance between Bareilly Club and Misson Hospital is less than 2km.

The event, organised by the Yuva Sewak Sangh and Parth Gautam Foundation, began at 10am and proceeded without incident for several hours as women from the city and surrounding tehsils gathered to tie rakhis on the mayor and his son. Organisers had issued invitations to around 20,000 women this year, up from roughly 15,000 last year, with gifts and food promised to attendees. Men and children accompanying the women swelled the crowd further.

Around 3pm, the number of women pushing toward the stage rose sharply beyond arrangements made for the crowd. Announcements appealing for patience and cooperation from the stage failed to control the surge, according to officials. Three other injured women were taken to the district hospital, given first aid and discharged.

Madhu's brother, Anesh Singh, said his sister had gone to the event with several women from their neighbourhood and was caught in the chaos. He alleged that adequate security and crowd-management arrangements had not been made for the scale of the gathering. Police and civic officials have not yet issued a formal statement on the incident.