12 die in stampede at Vaishno Devi, as COVID protocol goes for a toss

At least 12 people have been killed and over 13 injured in a stampede at Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir early this morning.

The stampede occurred at the Vaishno Devi Bhavan at Katra around 2.45 am. According to reports there was argument between some people in the heavily crowded place and this resulted in a stampede as people tried to move away from there.

The people who lost their lives are from Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, according to official sources.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha tweeted that an ex-gratia amount of Rs 10 lakh each would be given to the next of kin of those who died in the stampede and Rs two lakh would be give to those injured.  He also stated that the Shrine Board would bear the cost of the treatment of the injured.  

Sinha announced that a high-level inquiry has been ordered to probe the incident. The probe committee will be headed by Principal Secretary (Home). Additional Director General of Police and Divisional Commissioner of Jammu will also be on the committee.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi are among those who have expressed sorrow on the tragedy.

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