Datia, Oct 15: The Madhya Pradesh government has suspended 21 officials, including the district magistrate and superintendent of police of Datia district, over the alleged lapses in connection with the temple stampede in which 115 people died on Sunday.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has also announced setting up of a judicial commission, to be constituted today, to probe the stampede at Ratangarh temple during the Navratra festivities on Sunday.
The commission will probe, among other lapses, allegations of corruption and misconduct by the police, which has been accused by eyewitnesses of throwing dead bodies off the bridge and looting the devotees.
The commission, to be headed by a sitting High Court judge, will be asked to submit its report within two months and its recommendations will be implemented within 15 days after the state government gets the report, Mr Chouhan said.
The officials were suspended by the state government after getting an approval from the Election Commission as the state is under the model code of conduct following announcement of assembly polls, scheduled on November 25.
With Madhya Pradesh election-bound, a war of words broke out between Congress and the ruling BJP over the tragedy. Congress demanded Mr Chouhan's resignation, inviting a rebuff from the BJP which accused it of playing "politics on corpses."
The stampede happened on the ninth day of the Navratra festival when lakhs of devotees visit the Ratangarh temple. It was reportedly triggered by the rumour that a bridge across the Sindh river, which devotees were crossing to reach the temple, was about to collapse.
Several panic-stricken pilgrims were also believed to have leapt to their deaths into the river. A similar tragedy in 2006 at exactly the same spot had killed over 50.
Comments
Add new comment