Chhatpuja tragedy: NHRC seeks report from Bihar Police

New Delhi: Taking serious note of misadministration during Chhatpuja in Patna, the National Human Rights Commission(NHRC) has sought report from Bihar Police on the tragedy, that kills 18 people.

Acting on a complaint of Mr. Akhand, rights activist and managing trustee of Odisha based organization India Media Centre, NHRC has issued notice to DIG, Patna and the Senior Superintendent of Police(SSP), Bhojpur. They have been directed to submit report on the issue with four weeks.

Akhand alleged that, due to negligence on part of police and administration, at least 18 people, including children and women, mostly devotees, were killed and several others were injured in a stampede during Chhath festival celebrations in Patna on 19 November. The incident took place when people were returning after offering prayers around sunset at Adalatganj ghat in Patna. This shocking incident took place after a temporary bridge made of bamboo collapsed due to heavy rush of people, mainly devotees and their family members.

“There was no system for management of crowd. There are no sufficient police and fire service arrangement by the Government”, alleged the petitioner. After the incident there was no government officer to look after the matter. Injured persons are rushed to the local hospitals by the relatives or by the other devotees. In Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) there was no doctor in the emergency ward. Those seriously injured in the incident were at the mercy of God as doctors were not available in the emergency ward. Departmental action against the guilty officials and compensation of Rupees 10 lakhs for the family of dead and 1 lakh for injured is prayed before the commission. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}