3 dead, 14 injured in stampede in Bihar's Gopalganj

Three persons -- two elderly women and a minor boy -- died and 14 others were injured in a stampede at a Durga Puja Pandal in Bihar's Gopalganj district on Monday evening, police said.

Gopalganj SP Swarn Prabhat said that the incident happened at Raja Dal locality on Sugar Mill Road in Gopalganj city.

"A child fell on the ground just before the gate of Durga Puja Pandal at Raja Dal locality. The two elderly women tried to save the child but were trampled by the crowd due to excessive rush out there and become critically injured. We had taken the victims to the Sadar hospital for treatment but they succumbed on the way," he said.

Sources have said that there was no police deployment at a time of incident. As people turned out in large numbers due to Navami in the evening, the crowd become unmanageable. This has led to stampede at the place and the minor boy fell on the ground and died.

Following the incident, the district police barricaded entire area in Raja Dal locality and controlled the situation. The other injured persons were admitted in Sadar hospital and are under the observation of doctors.