Stampede in Chandrababu Naidu's Andhra roadshow, police register case

Police in Andhra Pradesh's Kundukur town registered a case in connection with the death of eight persons in a stampede during Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu's roadshow on Wednesday night.

Eight persons, including two women, died and five others were injured when they fell into a drain due to a stampede during the former chief minister's roadshow in a town in the Nellore district.

Kundukur police registered a case under section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and took up an investigation.

Meanwhile, the authorities handed over the bodies of the deceased to their relatives after an autopsy at the Kandukur Area Hospital on Thursday morning. Arrangements were being made to send bodies to their respective villages.

The opposition TDP has announced that it will make arrangements for the funeral of the deceased. Chandrababu Naidu asked his party leaders and cadres to participate in the last rites.

The TDP has blamed inadequate security by police for the incident. Local TDP leaders said they had informed police that a large number of people were expected for the roadshow but they failed to make proper arrangements.

One of the leaders said unauthorised construction over the drain also caused the mishap. With no parking place, some people had parked their two-wheelers near the drain. When the TDP leader arrived, people surged forward to catch his glimpse and fell on each other and some people fell into the drain.

The deceased were identified as E. Rajeswari (48), Chinna Kondaia (55), Kakumani Raja (50), K. Yanadi (55), Devineni Ravindra (73), G. Madhubabu (44), Y. Vijay (45) and Purshottam (70).

Chandrababu Naidu, on Wednesday announced Rs 10 lakh each as ex gratia to the kin of those who died in the stampede.

Expressing deep regret at the loss of lives, Chandrababu Naidu said that those who died are the family members of the TDP and it is a great loss to the party. "It is really a great agony that the family members of the TDP who fought for the interest of the state, who attended the party public meeting here have lost their valuable lives," Naidu said.

Promising that he will stand by the family members of those who died in the incident, Chandrababu said that he will not only pay the ex gratia to the family members but also will help for the education of their children. He also ordered the party activists to stay back in Kandukur till the last rites of the dead are complete.

The president of the state unit of the TDP, Atchen Naidu, also said that the death of seven persons at the public meeting of Chandrababu is a great tragedy and the party will stand by the family members of the deceased.