Barabanki Temple Stampede: Two Dead After Live Wire Falls During Sawan Darshan; Second Such Tragedy in 48 Hours

Barabanki, Haridwar: At least two people lost their lives in the early hours of Monday after a stampede broke out outside the Awsaneshwar Mahadev Temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki district. The chaos ensued when a live electric wire snapped and fell onto a tin shed, resulting in electric shocks to several devotees. 

The tragic incident occurred around 3 am at the temple located in Haidergarh, where a large number of devotees had gathered for jalabhishek on the third Monday of the holy Sawan month. According to eyewitnesses, panic spread rapidly as electric current surged through the tin-covered section of the temple premises.

One of the deceased was identified as 22-year-old Prashant, a resident of Mubarakpura village under the Lonikatra police station area. The second victim is yet to be identified. Both succumbed to their injuries during treatment at the Trivediganj Community Health Centre.

District Magistrate Shashank Tripathi confirmed that the mishap was triggered when monkeys damaged an overhead electric wire. “Devotees had gathered here for darshan on the third Monday of Sawan. Some monkeys jumped onto the overhead electric wires, causing them to fall onto the tin shed. As a result, around 19 people received electric shocks. The situation is otherwise under control,” Tripathi stated.

Police officials were already deployed at the site at the time of the incident. A formal investigation into the matter has been initiated.

An eyewitness recounted that the electric wire, after being disturbed by a monkey, fell directly onto the shed covering a section of the temple complex. The live current then spread quickly through the metal surface, leading to chaos and a stampede-like situation.

Taking swift action, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognizance of the incident and directed officials to ensure immediate relief measures and proper medical treatment for the injured.

This marks the second stampede-related tragedy within 48 hours. On Sunday, eight people died and at least 30 others were injured in a similar incident at the Mansa Devi Temple in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar. Panic had reportedly broken out among pilgrims due to rumours of an electric current near the stairway entrance during a heavy rush of devotees climbing to the hilltop shrine.

Haridwar SSP Pramendra Singh Dobal said the stampede occurred amid a massive weekend turnout at the temple, located over 500 feet above sea level in the Shivalik hills. In response to the Haridwar tragedy, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered a magisterial probe.

Both incidents have raised serious concerns about crowd management and safety arrangements at temples during the high-footfall Sawan period.