Deoghar Stampede: At least 11 killed and several injured

Durga temple at Bela Bagan in Deoghar: 11 'Kanwarias' devotees died in a stampede

At least 11 people including one woman were killed in a stampede near Durga temple in Jharkhand's Deoghar on 10 August 2015. More than 20 people were injured in the incident.

The injured have been admitted to local government hospital in Deoghar.

The incident occurred around 4.30am at Bela Bagan about three kilometers away from the main temple complex. The stampede was triggered when some devotees allegedly tried to run ahead of others, while queue formation for onward journey for darshan.

Deoghar
Deoghar is the main city of the Deoghar District in the Santhal Parganas division of Jharkhand. It is an important Hindu pilgrimage centre with the Baidyanath Temple being one of the twelve Shiva Jyothirlingas in India and one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in India. It is the only place in India where the jyotirlinga and the saktipeeth are together.

Deoghar is a Hindi word and the literal meaning of 'Deoghar' is abode ('ghar') of the Gods and Goddesses ('dev'). The city is famous for the mela of Shrawan (5th month according to the Hindu calendar system).

Each year between July and August (on the eve of shravan month) about 7 to 8 million devotees come from various part of India to offer holy water from the Ganges at Sultangunj—almost 108 km from Deoghar—to present it to Shiva.

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