Vaishno Devi shrine stampede 40 days on, Centre, UT Admin prefer to remain silent on findings of probe panel
The Union Government and the UT administration have preferred to remain silent on the findings of a high-level probe ordered into the deaths of 12 pilgrims in the first stampede incident at the revered shrine of Goddess Vaishno Devi that took place on January 1 this year.
Responding to a specific clubbed query of three Congress parliamentarians during the Question Hour in Lok Sabha regarding the findings of probe ordered over the incident, Minister of State, Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai said, “a high level three-member committee headed by the Principal Secretary (Home), Government of J&K has been constituted to ascertain the reasons behind the incident of Stampede in Mata Vaishno Devi Mandir, Jammu & Kashmir”.
He, however, did not say anything about the findings of this probe panel which was constituted by the UT administration on the directions of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha immediately after the incident. The probe panel was asked to submit its report within a week’s time.
Asked about the steps taken by the government to prevent the recurrence of such incidents, the Union Minister said, “Government of J&K has informed that they have taken several steps to ensure safety and security of the pilgrims which inter-alia include online yatra registration, token system for darshan, RFID based crowd management, construction of new shelters and halting points for pilgrims, installation of CCTV cameras, other crowd management measures etc.”
The Union Minister disclosed that a total of 32 people have lost their lives in different stampede incidents across the country from 2018 to 2020 while the data for the year 2021 was being compiled by the NCRB.
Survivors of the tragedy and different political and social groups have demanded that the findings should be made public and the guilty be punished. They have asked the UT administration to fix the responsibility of any negligence on the part of officials of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and security personnel deployed there.
Pertinently, the high level inquiry committee was constituted to examine in detail causes and reasons behind the incident, point out lapses, fix the responsibility, and suggest appropriate standard operating procedures and measures for preventing recurrence of such incidents in future.
Noted lawyer Ankur Sharma, who is the president of political party, Ikk Jutt Jammu, has said he had already filed a case with the J&K High Court for the temples’ management to be handed over to the Hindu community. “An independent inquiry should have been conducted, but a committee of IAS and IPS officers was formed for the probe. Will these officials accuse their own colleagues of failure?” he asked.
