Patna: Eight devotees and a policeman were injured in a stampede-like situation at the Singheshwar Dham temple in Madhepura district on the last Monday of Shrawan. All the injured were admitted to JNKT Medical College and Hospital, Madhepura. Following the incident, Madhepura DM Abhishek Ranjan, SP, SDM and SDPO rushed to the temple and took charge. Additional police force was deployed, barricading reinforced and devotees reorganised into queues. The situation was brought under control within about 30 minutes.The situation arose after the temple gates were opened around 1am following the scheduled govt worship. Thousands of devotees began entering the temple, with the crowd swelling between 6am and 7am. As the queue became difficult to manage, some devotees fell, triggering panic and pushing.A woman suffered a serious head injury after falling on the floor and several others were injured. A policeman deployed to control the crowd was also hurt and his uniform was torn.Worship and “jalabhishek” continued after the crowd was reorganised.Ranjan said, “There was no actual stampede inside the temple premises.”He said the crowd had suddenly increased but the situation was brought under control promptly.The DM said, “The administration followed the prescribed standard operating procedure for crowd management and temporarily closed the main gate at intervals to regulate the number of devotees entering the temple.”The administration also used the open area outside the temple to disperse the crowd and prevent congestion.A relative of injured devotee Ranjan Devi said 13 people from Jalsima village in Saharsa had come for worship. She said, “My relative Runa Devi fell when people began moving in panic, after which devotees behind her pressed against her. She was eventually pulled out of the crowd and taken for treatment.”Another injured devotee, Sintu Kumar of Manganganj in Supaul, suffered head and shoulder injuries after being caught in the crowd around 6.30am. His friend said several people fell and the crowd climbed over Sintu before others pulled him out.The temple trust committee appealed to devotees to remain calm and cooperate with the administration.
