Early Times Report
Jammu, Apr 28: Although the findings of the three-member inquiry committee are yet to be made public, it is believed that the panel has held some Katra-based police officers responsible for the stampede at the Bhawan of Mata Vaishno Devi on January 1, 2022, in which 12 pilgrims were killed.
After the tragedy, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had asked the then home secretary Shaleen Kabra to probe into the death of 12 pilgrims in a stampede at the cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi.
Highly placed sources said that the inquiry panel has pointed out that it was the responsibility of Katra-based police officers to control the rush of the devotees on the eve of the new year. “Instead of regulating the movement of the devotees towards the holy cave some police officers based at Katra-the base camp of the shrine were busy in issuing priority slips to their friends and other knowns on the evening of December 31, 2021”, a source said, adding, “the inquiry panel has pin-pointed such irresponsible behavior of Katra-based police officers”.
Sources said that during the next hearing of the case in the High Court, the authorities are likely to submit a response regarding the findings of the panel.
On September 12, 2022, a PIL was filed seeking directions to the J&K government, including Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, to make public the inquiry report of the three-member committee.
The stampede horror had unfolded during the intervening night of December 31, 2021, and January 1, 2022.
As reported earlier, within minutes after the first-ever stampede at the Bhawan of Mata Vaishno Devi, the Jammu and Kashmir Government had announced a three-member inquiry panel to find a reason for the incident.
The panel was constituted on January 1, 2022 and it was announced that it will submit its report within a week but the government has not given any statement about the findings of the panel.
As devotees of Mata Vaishno Devi, across the globe, were shocked over the first-ever stampede at the Bhawan at the most revered shrine, the J&K government announced setting up of a committee headed by Principal Secretary (Home) Shaleen Kabra, with the then Divisional Commissioner Jammu Rajiv Langar and Additional Director General of Police Mukesh Singh as its members to probe the incident.
The panel was asked to submit a report within a week so as to fix responsibility on those who were responsible for the tragedy.
A day after its constitution, the three-member committee had asked the people to provide evidence related to the stampede at gate number three of the Bhawan. |
