Police in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Friday initiated a criminal investigation into the stampede that killed 63 children and women at a Hindu temple, a news report said, according to dpa. Police in the Pratapgarh district lodged a case of criminal negligence against the managers of the hermitage where the temple is located, district police chief Mahesh Mishra told the PTI news agency. The hermitage is owned by Hindu spiritual guru Kripaluji Maharaj, who was marking the anniversary of his wife's death by distributing free food and utensils Thursday when the tragedy took place. No arrests had been made in the district, 180 kilometres south-east of the state capital, Lucknow. Twenty-eight injured were still being treated at local hospitals in Pratapgarh. More than 10,000 people, mostly poor villagers had turned up at the temple and were jostling for free meals and utensils when a gate under construction collapsed, triggering the stampede. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced relief of 200,000 rupees (4,370 dollars) to the relatives of the 37 children and 26 women killed. Temple stampedes are not uncommon in India, where huge crowds gather to pray on auspicious days at complexes where the approach roads and entrances are often narrow. Stampedes at temples and other religious places in India have claimed more than 800 lives in the past eight years.
