There was a second stampede at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj just hours apart and 2 km from the spot of the first crowd crush near Sangam Nose that killed 30 people in the wee hours on Wednesday. Piles of clothes and footwear indicate it was a big stampede, but there is no clarity about if people were killed and the number of devotees injured in the stampede at Jhusi.
An exclusive report by Abhinav Pandey of The Lallantop, India Today Digital’s sister news outlet, with photojournalist Mohan Kanojia reveals the scale of the stampede. Exclusive footage shows piles of clothes, footwear and bottles being cleared by tractors from the Jhusi site. They also spoke to eyewitnesses who narrated that they saw people being crushed and bodies being recovered from the site.
The spot in Jhusi is across the Ganga and just 2 km from the site of the first stampede near the Sangam Nose. While the first stampede occurred around 1.30 am, the stampede at Jhusi was around 5.55 am.
“There was no chance for an ambulance to reach this side (Jhusi). The ambulance service could only be accessed across the Ganga,” Main Bahadur Singh told The Lallantop.
The stampedes were reported as a record number of devotees reached the Maha Kumbh site at Prayagraj on Wednesday because it was Mauni Amavasya, an auspicious day for the second Shahi Snan. Around 55 million people had taken a dip at the Sangam by late Tuesday.
That 30 people were killed and 60 injured in the Sangam Nose stampede at Maha Kumbh, the world’s largest congregation of people, became global news. But there has been no report till now on the second stampede at Jhusi.