Report suggests 79 pilgrims died in Kumbh Mela stampede, far exceeding official toll

At slightest 79 radical died successful past week’s stampede astatine the Maha Kumbh Mela in India, far exceeding the toll of 30 claimed by the provincial government, an probe by a quality outlet has found.

The authorities successful bluish Uttar Pradesh state, tally by Narendra Modi’s BJP party, has been facing disapproval for mismanaging the Hindu spiritual festival successful Prayagraj and accused of covering up the decease toll from the stampede, with absorption leaders demanding transparency and accountability.

The state’s main minister, a Hindu monk called Yogi Adityanath, has been nether occurrence for his administration’s delayed effect to the calamity connected 29 January and his nonaccomplishment to merchandise casualty figures promptly.

While his authorities has since ordered an investigation, it has not revised the archetypal toll.

An probe by autarkic quality outlet Newslaundry recovered the existent toll was acold higher. A elder authorities authoritative gave the outlet a database containing the names of 69 radical who had reportedly been brought dormant from the Kumbh to the Motilal Nehru Medical College successful Prayagraj. At slightest 66 of the bodies had been handed implicit to their families by 3 February portion 3 remained unidentified.

Ten of these victims were men and the remainder women. The bodies were stored successful a ample freezer space, alternatively of the mortuary, the aforesaid installation utilized aft a 2013 Kumbh stampede. None of the corpses were taken for postmortem, the outlet found, raising further questions astir the government’s handling of the tragedy.

“The work for postmortems lies with the police,” Newslaundry quoted a authorities authoritative arsenic saying. “The infirmary lone carries them retired upon constabulary request, but the medication wanted to nonstop the bodies location arsenic soon arsenic possible.”

Relatives were provided with escaped ambulances, accompanied by constabulary personnel, to instrumentality distant the bodies. They were fixed receipts to assertion the bodies arsenic well, but 2 specified receipts reviewed by the quality outlet did not transportation a date.

Further discrepancies were recovered astatine the Swaroop Rani Hospital successful Prayagraj wherever a bulletin committee initially listed 7 dormant and 36 injured. The database had been taken down the adjacent day.

Records examined by Newslaundry astatine a adjacent presumption suggested six unidentified bodies had been brought to the infirmary from the Kumb grounds. While 2 were the aforesaid arsenic connected the hospital’s list, 1 idiosyncratic had died astatine 10.27pm, taking the tally to 10.

Taken unneurotic with the 69 fatalities recorded astatine the Motilal Nehru Medical College, the decease toll from the Maha Kumbh stampede rises to astatine slightest 79.

The authoritative number of 30 deaths has besides been met with scepticism from absorption leaders.

Samajwadi Party person Akhilesh Yadav accused the Adityanath authorities of hiding the existent figures and mishandling the situation. Speaking successful the Lok Sabha, the little enclosure of the parliament, helium alleged that earthmovers and tractors were utilized to wide distant bodies.

“Footwear and covering were scattered astatine the country and JCB machines and tractor trolleys were utilized to region the dead,” Mr Yadav, a erstwhile main curate of Uttar Pradesh, said. “When this sparked outrage, the authorities scrambled to screen it up.”

He demanded that “the figures for deaths, injured individuals, aesculapian facilities, food, water, and transport should beryllium disclosed successful the parliament” of India.

Mallikarjun Kharge, person of the main absorption Congress party, caused an uproar successful the parliament by claiming "thousands” of radical had died astatine the Kumbh, prompting precocious location chairperson Jagdeep Dhankar to request that helium authenticate the fig oregon retreat the statement. “This is my estimation and if this is not right, you should archer what the information is,” Mr Kharge said, addressing the government.

Trinamool Congress subordinate Saugata Roy called the stampede 1 of the worst tragedies of autarkic India.

The ruling BJP, however, downplayed the incident. Senior MP Hema Malini described the stampede arsenic a insignificant event. “We visited the Kumbh, everything was well-managed,” she said. “It is existent that the incidental happened, but it wasn’t that big. It is being exaggerated.”

Mr Adityanath, meanwhile, claimed connected Tuesday that the stampede was a conspiracy and threatened strict enactment against anyone recovered responsible.

The Independent has contacted the Uttar Pradesh authorities for comment.