Kanpur, Sept 25: One person was killed and 12 others were injured when a stampede broke out in the Hanuman Temple in Panki on the outskirts of the city today.
Devotees in large numbers had gathered at the temple on the occasion of 'Budhwa Mangal' festival when the incident took place.The doors of the 500-year-old temple were to open at 3 AM but the devotees had lined up since last night.
DIG (Kanpur) Amitabh Yash told reporters that serpentine lines were seen outside the temple since last night following which additional policemen were posted near the site.
Due to the heat and fatigue, some devotees fainted and a stampede soon broke out, Yash said.
However, some eyewitnesses said that police used force to control the crowd which led to the stampede.
The DIG said police used mild force to control the crowd.
The injured were rushed to various hospitals in the city where one of the devotees identified as 38-year-old Purushottam Prajapati died, hospital sources said.
This is the second stampede in a religious place in as many days. Nine persons were killed when a stampede broke out in an ashram in Deogarh in Jharkhand yesterday.
Yash said many devotees were still fainting due to heat and fatigue as they have been standing in the line for at least eight hours.
