<p>Officials said the stampede took place after 2 am when a congregation ended and gifts were being distributed to devotees of sect chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh. Sirsa is around 300 km from Chandigarh. Several people were injured. <br /><br />The stampede took place when a squall hit the venue and people ran in different directions to take cover. Tens of thousands of sect devotees had gathered for the founder's day celebrations of the sect here.<br /><br />Police officials said over 100,000 devotees were inside the sect headquarters Thursday night.<br /><br />The victims, whose bodies have been taken to the civil hospital here for a post mortem examination, fell and were crushed under the people running for cover.<br /><br />Sect officials could not be reached as they did not answer any calls.</p>
<p>Officials said the stampede took place after 2 am when a congregation ended and gifts were being distributed to devotees of sect chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh. Sirsa is around 300 km from Chandigarh. Several people were injured. <br /><br />The stampede took place when a squall hit the venue and people ran in different directions to take cover. Tens of thousands of sect devotees had gathered for the founder's day celebrations of the sect here.<br /><br />Police officials said over 100,000 devotees were inside the sect headquarters Thursday night.<br /><br />The victims, whose bodies have been taken to the civil hospital here for a post mortem examination, fell and were crushed under the people running for cover.<br /><br />Sect officials could not be reached as they did not answer any calls.</p>
