11 killed in stampede at temple in Jharkhand

Incident took place around 4 am, say police officials

At least 11 people, including a woman, were killed and 30 others injured in a temple stampede in Jharkhand's Deogarh district early today, the police said.

"Ten men and a woman died as the devotees tried to overtake each other around 4 am," Deputy Commissioner of police, Deogarh Amit Kumar told PTI.

The incident took place near a Durga temple at Belabagan More on Deogarh-Jassidih, about 350 kilometres from Ranchi, Civil Surgeon Diwakar Kamath said.

All the injured are being treated at a nearby hospital, Kamath said.

Today is the second Monday of the auspicious Shravan month when Degoarh is generally teeming with tens of thousands of devotees who flock to temples. Devotees of Lord Shiva offer special prayers at temples on Mondays during this period. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief at the loss of lives in the temple stampede. Modi also spoke to Chief Minister Raghubar Das about the incident. 

"Pained at loss of lives due to the stampede in Jharkhand. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the deceased in this hour of grief," the PM said on twitter. 

"I pray that the injured recover quickly. I spoke to CM Raghubar Das ji on the incident," he said. 

Das apprised Modi of the incident over phone, according to an official statement. The chief minister has also announced 

compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the families of those killed in the stampede. The injured would be given Rs 50,000. 

A high-level committee headed by state Home Secretary N N Pandey will probe the incident. Pandey, Additional Director General of Police S N Pradhan and other officials were supervising the relief operation, the statement said. 

"At about at 4 am, a rumour spread that the temple doors were being opened. Some of the waiting devotees tried to jump queue which led to the stampede," Pradhan said. 

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said additional forces were being sent to the state for crowd control. 

"There is a huge rush of devotees. They asked for additional forces. So I have told the Home Secretary to send Rapid Action Force there," he said. 

BJP MP from Godda Nishikant Dubey said steps will be taken to ensure that such incidents do not recur.