NEW DELHI: As the N Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP government and the management board Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) came under fire for Wednesday stampede that claimed six lives, the FIR filed on the incident blamed the victim and the crowd for the incident.
The Tirupati East Police registered two separate FIRs following the deaths of six devotees during the Vaikunta Ekadasi celebrations.
R Malliga, aged 50, from Tamil Nadu’s Mettur Salem district, collapsed in queue for darshan tokens at Vishnunivasam. P Srinivasulu, a tahsildar from Balaiahpalli Mandal, filed a complaint stating that Malliga lost consciousness during a surge of devotees.
Although she was transported to Sri Venkateswara Ramnarain Ruia Government General Hospital, medical staff pronounced her dead upon arrival. The police registered the case and attributed the incident to overcrowding and the victim’s health condition, according to news agency ANI.
The duty doctor at SVRRGG Hospital in Tirupati confirmed Malliga’s death immediately after her arrival. P Srinivasulu subsequently reported the incident at the Tirupati East Police Station.
The official FIR, according to news agency ANI, stated, “When other devotees rushed towards queue line in that time due her ill health she fell on the ground.”
A second FIR, submitted by M Jayaramulu, 61, a tahsildar from Narayanavanam Mandal, documented five additional fatalities. The deceased included Kandipilli Santhi (35) from Visakhapatnam, Guddla Rajini (45), Boddeti Naidu Babu (55), Suri Setty Lavanya Swathi (37), and Nirmala from Tamil Nadu.
The report indicated that these individuals were waiting for darshan tokens at Padmavathi Park near Ramanaidu School when a crowd surge caused them to fall. They were transported to SVRRGG Hospital, where doctors confirmed their deaths.
Meanwhile, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has announced a judicial investigation into the stampede. The chief minister also took disciplinary action by suspending two officials for their failure in managing operations effectively.
During a late evening press conference after visiting the incident site and meeting the injured, CM Naidu stated, “I could see some loopholes in the monitoring system in Tirupati.”
He further announced, “Two officials who failed to ensure smooth operations are being suspended. Tirupati SP, joint executive officer of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams and another official are transferred.”