Gwalior, Feb 10 (IANS) Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Madhya Pradesh Home Minister, Narottam Mishra, has expressed his grief over the tragic incident that occurred during the Kalash Yatra on the first day of the 10-day-long consecration of the newly constructed Navagraha Shakti Peeth temple in Gwalior's Dabra town on Tuesday.

A woman was killed, and at least six others, including a minor girl, sustained injuries during the Kalash Yatra.

The tragic incident occurred when the Kalash Yatra (women carrying sacred pots on their heads) was heading towards the temple, to mark the beginning of the consecration ritual of the newly constructed temple.

Narottam Mishra, who is one of the trustees of the temple, visited the hospital to enquire about the health condition of the women injured during the incident.

"Ek hamari bujurg bahen ki dum ghutne se mrityu ho gayi. Ghatna dhukhad bahut hi hai (One of our elderly sisters died of suffocation. This is a very sad incident)," former State Home Minister Mishra told IANS after meeting with the victims and their family members at a hospital in Dabra.

Narottam Mishra, who represented the Dabra Assembly constituency thrice (1990, 1998 and 2003) before it was reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SCs), said that incident occurred due to a rush as a large number of people, including women and children, had gathered to witness the Kalash Yatra.

"Due to the rush, a woman fell on her little daughter. I had come to the hospital to see her. I met her parents also. A minor girl is injured but she is recovering well. I also met other women, who were injured during the incident," the former State Home Minister said.

The former Minister also denied that there was any stampede and the incident occurred due to a rush of the large crowd.

"It is a very unfortunate incident that happened today, but it is being presented in a wrong way. Yes, there was a rush as everyone wanted to witness that moment, but no stampede occurred," Narottam Mishra told IANS.

A video of the incident surfaced on social media showing some people rushing the injured persons to a hospital in an ambulance.

Police personnel deployed to manage the crowd and the security at the site handled the situation and the Kalash Yatra proceeded peacefully along the designated route and reached the Navagraha Shakti Peeth Temple.

Gwalior Collector Ruchika Chauhan, while talking to the media persons, said that several women had gathered near the Dabra stadium for the Kalash Yatra in the morning hours of Tuesday.

"During the distribution of the Kalash (sacred pots), a scuffle broke out. A 70-year-old woman was crushed in the crowd and died later," Gwalior Collector Chauhan added.

Some other women, including a three-year old girl, were also injured and they have been admitted at a hospital.

The consecration process of the temple started on Tuesday will be concluded with day-to-day religious activities on February 20.

During these days, several religious personalities, politicians from across the party lines are expected to visit the site.

--IANS

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