The death toll in the Patna stampede has gone up to 33 as one person succumbed to his injuries early on Saturday morning. The police also resorted to mild lathi charge on the protestors who had gathered at the Ram Ghulam Chowk, near Gandhi Maidan on Saturday morning to protest against the district administration.
State secretary Amir Subhani and the hospital authorities confirmed on Saturday that one more person has died in Patna Medical College and Hospital today morning. Altogether, 28 injured persons are receiving treatment at the hospital.
A large number of people gathered outside the hospital to know about the condition of their family members admitted inside. A pall of gloom has prevailed in the hospital premises.
Four children who lost contact with their family members in the stampede have been given temporary shelter at the Gandhi Maidan police station.
Meanwhile, anger prevailed amongst the local people of Patna who assembled at the Ram Ghulam Chowk near Gandhi Maidan to protest against the district administration for not making proper arrangements to avert the incident.
Angry public shouted slogans against the district authorities before the police arrived and resorted to mild lathi charge against them. Some of them were taken into custody.
They also blamed the police for resorting to lathi charge when the stampede took place on Friday evening following rumour that a live wire had snapped and fallen down inside the Gandhi Maidan.
“There was no arrangement from the district administration to tackle any such incident. There was no proper light, no ambulances and no proper exit points for such a large number of assemblages of people at the function,” said Rajesh Kumar, one of the protestors.
He added that the hospital too did not make any arrangements to meet such needs.
“Everything was helter-skelter after the stampede took place. The guilty officials must be punished for the tragedy”, said many Patna residents.
The political leaders too have echoed similar sentiment. “The guilty must be booked for the unfortunate incident”, said RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav while the Lok Janshakti Party president Ram Vilas Paswan has blamed the state government for being failure at all fronts. Mr. Paswan is expected to reach the state capital and visit the hospital in the afternoon on Saturday.
Late on Friday night, Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi held a meeting with top police officials at his residence to review the situation.
