At least 12 Shia mourners were injured in a bull attack while they were carrying out a procession in Uttar Pradesh's capital city Lucknow. The incident was reported late Monday when a stray bull ran amok and tore into a procession, taken out to mark the martyrdom of Hazrat Ali on the 21st day of Ramzan.
A stampede-like situation was witnessed in Saadatganj area soon after the incident.
However, a major tragedy was averted when a group of Shia mourners held the bull by its horns and pushed it aside.
An ambulance was called and the injured mourners were shifted to the KGMU trauma centre in the city. Three people with critical injuries were admitted to the hospital, while others were released after first aid.
Those hospitalized were identified as Nadeem Rizvi (55), Zafar Abbas (28) and Laraib Zaidi (25).
Meanwhile, locals accused the district administration of not making adequate arrangements, like barricading to check stray animals or secure the route for the iconic procession which marked the 150th year of Lucknow's legacy.
The district administration had only swung into action after a video of the incident had gone viral.
The Lucknow Municipal Corporation has formed a committee to probe why stray bulls were not removed from the area.
"Municipal Commissioner has formed a panel headed by Additional Commissioner Amit Singh to fix responsibility on those entrusted with the job," said LMC Chief Veterinary Officer Arvind Rao.
Despite the security breach, District Magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma passed the buck on corporators. "It's the responsibility of the corporators to curb the stray menace. If they cannot do it, they should seek LMC's help," he said.
This was the tenth attack by a stray animal in the city in two months.
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