45-year-old woman dies after alleged crowd crush at Bareilly Raksha Bandhan event

A 45-year-old woman died after allegedly being caught in a crowd crush during a saree distribution event ahead of Raksha Bandhan in Bareilly. Her family alleged delayed information about her condition, while police and organisers disputed reports of serious disorder at the event

Bareilly: A 45-year-old woman died after she was allegedly caught in a crowd crush at a saree distribution event ahead of Raksha Bandhan, her family said on Friday. Her last rites were performed on Friday, while her family alleged they were informed late about her condition. The deceased, Madhu Singh, a resident of Chandraguptapuram in Satipur Colony under the Baradari police station area, was among the women attending the programme at Bareilly Club’s mela ground.

The event, organised by Mayor Umesh Gautam and his son Parth Gautam’s foundation, involved distribution of sarees to women ahead of Raksha Bandhan. According to family members, Madhu was taken to Mission Hospital after her condition deteriorated following the incident. Her nephew Raja Tomar, a former BJP East Mandal president, said he had brought her to the programme around 10 am and left her with women from their neighbourhood before going to drive a school auto.

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Tomar said he received a call around 1.30 pm informing him that Madhu’s condition had worsened after the crowd incident. A relative, Lata Devi, alleged that the family struggled to get information about Madhu’s condition at the hospital.

Tomar said the mayor had provided him 15 passes for the event and alleged that Madhu could have been taken to the nearby military hospital had the family been informed earlier. Madhu’s brother-in-law Anesh Singh said her husband, Bhagwan Singh, is a retired Army personnel. Her last rites were performed at Gulab Bari cremation ground in Bareilly on Friday.

According to eyewitnesses, the crowd became unruly as women tried to move forward to receive gifts. Several women fell over one another during the pushing and shoving, with Madhu allegedly falling and suffering serious injuries.

Bareilly District Magistrate Avanish Singh said he had not received information about the event or any complaint concerning it. He said matters relating to such programmes were handled at the level of the Additional District Magistrate (City) and City Magistrate.

SP City Manush Parik said the mayor’s programme was a private event and police had not been informed about it in advance. After receiving information about the crowd and disorder, a police team was sent to the venue to manage the situation.

Parik said police had no information about any death or injury at the time and that any complaint would be investigated. City Magistrate Rajesh Verma also said the administration had not been informed about the programme at the Bareilly Club ground.

Mayor Umesh Gautam, however, said on Friday that the programme had been conducted smoothly and there had been no disorder. On Thursday, police had denied reports of any death at the event, saying they had received information about one or two women fainting. A woman had been taken to hospital after reportedly suffering dizziness and an injury amid the pushing and shoving and was discharged after treatment.