Minor altercation between young men led to stampede at Vaishno Devi: J&K DGP

A stampede at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine killed 12 people on Saturday leaving several others injured.

New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh on Saturday (January 1) said that a minor dispute between some young men caused the stampede at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine that killed 12 people and injured several others.

A minor altercation among some young boys led to the stampede at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in which 12 people "unfortunately" died,” Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said in a statement.

According to the preliminary report and information from the scene suggest that there was an altercation among some young boys, and within seconds, there was a stampede situation, Singh added.

Talking to PTI, he said the incident was very unfortunate, and police and other officials responded to the situation as soon as the incident occurred.

"Police and officials from the civil administration were quick to respond, and the order within the crowd was immediately restored, but by that time, the damage had been done," he said.

"Immediately the injured were rushed to nearby hospitals," the police chief said, adding that 15 people were injured.

Meanwhile, eminent leaders including PM Modi, Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, expressed their condolences on the loss of lives.

PM Modi announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of the people who lost their lives in the tragic incident while Rs 50,000 will be granted to the injured.

Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha also said that Rs 10 lakh each will be given to the victims of the incident and Rs 2 lakh each for the injured.

(With agency inputs)