Woman’s death, ‘stampede’ claim: What happened at UP Raksha Bandhan event?

The family of a 45-year-old woman has alleged that she died in a ‘stampede-like situation’ during a mass Raksha Bandhan celebration at the Bareilly Club Mela Ground on Thursday. The event was organised by Bareilly Mayor Umesh Gautam, who was present at the function.

Bareilly Police, however, said it has not received any official information or complaint regarding the alleged death and are probing it. Mayor Gautam also denied that any such incident occurred during the event. The woman, Madhu Singh, lived in Chatipur area in Bareilly.

“Madhu had gone to the event with several women from her neighbourhood. A stampede broke out, and she suffered breathing difficulties after being caught in the crush. Her condition deteriorated and she later died,” alleged her brother-in-law, Anesh Singh.

He claimed Madhu’s husband, Bhagwan Singh, a former Army personnel, did not want a post-mortem examination to be conducted and that the family had not filed an FIR in the matter. Madhu has two minor children. The family said they learned about her death from a woman who had accompanied her to the event.

The mayor, however, said, “There were several people at the event, and videos and photographs were being recorded throughout the programme. No information was received during the event about any such incident. The programme concluded peacefully.” He said he learned about the woman’s death through the media.

“It is not clear where or when the incident occurred. I am also not sure whether the woman had attended the event. No such incident took place at the venue,” he asserted. Around 20,000 women from different parts of the district attended the event.

“I have been organising this event every year for the past few years, and women from different parts of the district come here to participate,” the mayor said. Circle officer, Bareilly, Ashutosh Shivam said the allegation of a death during the event would be probed.

He added that no one has filed any complaint with the incident, and they came to know about the matter through different sources