The three-member panel set up to investigate the stampede and subsequents deaths at Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir will submit its report within a week, news agency ANI reported.
Twelve people lost their lives and over a dozen others were injured in a stampede at the famous Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir in the early hours during a heavy rush of devotees on New Year. This is the first such tragedy at the shrine, located atop the Trikuta hills that attracts lakhs of people every year.
The incident occurred between 2.30am and 2.45am on Saturday near a relatively narrow passage at gate number 3 outside the sanctum sanctorum of the hilltop shrine where devotees usually arrive round the clock after trekking from the Katra base camp, a distance of nearly 13 km.
A high-level inquiry was ordered into the stampede by Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha to be headed by Principal Secretary (Home) Shaleen Kabra with Divisional Commissioner Jammu Rajiv Langar and Additional Director General of Police Mukesh Singh as its members.
Condolences poured in from all quarters and Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Sinha and Union minister Jitendra Singh to take stock of the situation. According to eyewitness accounts, the number of devotees was allegedly beyond the permitted level with flagrant violation of COVID-19 norms, and some of the survivors accused the Jammu and Kashmir administration of "mismanagement". The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, however, denied the charges saying all necessary arrangements were made in view of the expected rush.
