Stampede at shrine in central India leaves 12 dead

2012-01-15 07:37:36 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW DELHI (BNO NEWS) -- Twelve people were crushed to death on Saturday when thousands of people attempted to enter a Muslim shrine in central India, officials said. Several others were injured.

The stampede happened at the Muslim shrine of Hussain Tekri in the Ratlam District of Madhya Pradesh state when thousands of people were participating in an annual Muslim celebration known as Chehallum, which is observed 40 days after the mourning month of Muharram.

Witnesses said there was only a single gate to access the shrine and several people were trampled when people started pushing each other. Among the twelve people killed were at least four women, a district official said.

In the last decade alone, more than 1,000 people have died as a result of stampedes at religious ceremonies in India. In August 2011, at least sixteen Hindu pilgrims were killed and more than 50 others were injured in a stampede during a religious ceremony in the northern city of Haridwar.

Months earlier, in January 2011, at least 104 people were killed in a stampede during a pilgrimage in the southern state of Kerala.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-01-15

Will the Indian government be protesting the reporting of this event as it casts India in a bad light?

yes, cause you wanna get in early in case you miss the main feature.

what was the hurry ?