Three women killed, 2 injured in stampede at Sikar’s Khatu Shyam temple complex

Three women were killed and two persons injured in a stampede outside a temple in Rajasthan’s Sikar district early morning Monday, police said. The stampede occurred as a sea of devotees converged outside the Khatu Shyam temple on the occasion of ‘Gyaras’, an auspicious day as per the Hindu calendar.

The stampede occurred as devotees, who had been waiting in long queues, flocked for ‘darshan’ as soon as the temple opened at around 4.30 am. In one of the queues, a 63-year-old woman suffering from a heart ailment collapsed, PTI reported, adding that two women standing behind her also fell down due to the rush of devotees.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish at the death of devotees in the stampede. Taking to Twitter, the Prime Minister wrote: “Saddened by the loss of lives due to a stampede at the Khatu Shyamji Temple complex in Sikar, Rajasthan. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I pray that those who are injured recover at the earliest.”