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Seven Women Die in Stampede as Probe Launched

8/17/2026

35 8 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

A stampede near Ashok Dham Halt railway station killed seven women after a six-kilometre queue forced devotees to wait about four hours before entering.
Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav accused the NDA state government of misgovernance for lacking security and crowd control.
Bihar State Board of Religious Trust chairman Ranbir Nandan announced a probe and said a team will visit the temple.
District officials formed a three-member inquiry team.

History

Historical Context

On 3 August 2008, a rain-shelter collapse at Himachal Pradesh’s Naina Devi shrine triggered a panic that killed 146 pilgrims and injured about 150. Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal ordered an inquiry and compensation, yet a similar crowd disaster occurred in 1978, killing 65. The 2024 Ashok Dham Halt crush in Bihar shows those earlier warnings have not prevented repeated safety failures.

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Story summary

A stampede near Ashok Dham Halt railway station killed seven women after a six-kilometre queue forced devotees to wait about four hours before entering.
Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav accused the NDA state government of misgovernance for lacking security and crowd control.
Bihar State Board of Religious Trust chairman Ranbir Nandan announced a probe and said a team will visit the temple.
District officials formed a three-member inquiry team.

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