NEW DELHI: While the N Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP government and the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) board came under fire for Wednesday’s stampede that claimed six lives, the FIR lodged over the incident blamed the victim and the crowd for the incident.
The Tirupati East Police registered two separate FIRs following the death of six devotees during Vaikunta Ekadasi celebrations.
R Malliga, 50, from Mettur Salem district of Tamil Nadu, collapsed in the queue for darshan tokens at Vishnunivasam. P Srinivasulu, a tahsildar of Balaiahpalli Mandal, filed a complaint claiming that Malliga lost consciousness during a rush of devotees.
Although she was transported to the Sri Venkateswara Ramnarain Ruia Government General Hospital, the medical staff declared her dead on arrival. The police registered the case and attributed the incident to overcrowding and the victim’s health condition, according to news agency ANI.
The doctor on duty at Tirupati’s SVRRGG Hospital confirmed Malliga’s death immediately after his arrival. P Srinivasulu later reported the incident at the Tirupati East police station.
The official FIR, according to news agency ANI, stated: “When other devotees ran towards the queue at that time due to her ill health, she fell to the ground.”
A second FIR, lodged by M. Jayaramulu, 61, a tahsildar of Narayanavanam mandal, documented five additional deaths. Among the deceased were Kandipilli Santhi (35) from Visakhapatnam, Guddla Rajini (45), Boddeti Naidu Babu (55), Suri Setty Lavanya Swathi (37) and Nirmala from Tamil Nadu.
The report stated that these people were waiting for darshan tokens at Padmavathi Park near Ramanaidu School when a large crowd made them fall. They were transported to SVRRGG Hospital, where doctors confirmed their death.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced a judicial inquiry into the stampede. The prime minister also took disciplinary action by suspending two officials for failing to effectively manage operations.
During a late afternoon press conference after visiting the incident site and meeting the injured, CM Naidu stated, “I could see some loopholes in the tracking system in Tirupati.”
He further announced, “Two officials who failed to ensure smooth operations are being suspended. Tirupati SP, joint executive director of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams and another official are transferred.”