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Lack of facilities led to Patna stampede, says Bihar Home Secretary

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ANI Patna

Bihar Home Secretary Amir Subhani on Saturday said that lack of facilities led to the stampede at Patna's Gandhi Maidan during the Dussehra celebrations earlier this year.

Subhani, along with Additional Director General of Police Gupteshwar Pandey, was part of the two-member inquiry commission set up by the Bihar Government to probe the stampede at Gandhi Maidan.

He said that they have submitted their report to the government after seeing the documents, CCTV footages and the statements of the witnesses.

Asserting that the mishap took place due to lack of arrangements, he further said that strict action should be taken against officials responsible for it.

 

"The main reason behind the stampede was that at the incident spot a cable TV wire had fallen down and a rumour was spread that it has electric current, whereas it wasn't the case," he added.

The Bihar Home Secretary further said that there was no plan to control the huge crowd that had gathered on the occasion.

"There was no loudspeaker to direct the crowd at the gates and no facility to help them exit," Subhani said.

"In our report we have written that there was lack of facilities on the part of the District Magistrate, the police administration, Patna Nagar Nigam and Patna Traffic Police. The government will start an enquiry and strict action will be taken against the officials responsible for it," he added.

At least 33 people were killed and 28 others injured in a stampede in Patna after the Dussehra celebrations at the Gandhi Maidan earlier in October this year.

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First Published: Nov 29 2014 | 12:54 PM IST

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