Judicial probe visits Kumbh stampede spot in Prayagraj

Prayagraj: A three-member judicial commission set up by the Uttar Pradesh government to probe the Maha Kumbh stampede reached Prayagraj and visited the incident spot at Sangam Nose on Friday, an official said.

The panel is headed by Harsh Kumar, a retired judge of the Allahabad High Court, and comprises former director general of police (DGP) V K Gupta and retired IAS officer D K Singh.

"The commission is holding meetings with officials concerned here. We may also visit the incident spot later in the day," an official told PTI earlier in the day.

Sangam Nose is a triangular landmass that is sandwiched between the river Ganga in the north and the river Yamuna in the south, before they merge.

In the afternoon, the panel visited Sangam Nose, where the stampede took place, and were accompanied by Mela Adhikari Vijay Kiran Anand, DIG Vaibhav Krishna, and SSP Rajesh Dwivedi, who kept briefing the panel members.

The panel moved around the area in heavy security comprising scores of personnel from the Rapid Action Force, holding a rope in a cordon for the commission members and officers.

The panel was formed in the wake of an early Wednesday stampede that killed 30 devotees at Sangam Nose where they had gone for a dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya.

The commission has a month to wrap up its investigation but will try to expedite it, Kumar, the panel head, said on Thursday.

According to police, the stampede broke out as the crowd jumped barricades, crushing those waiting for their turn on the other side.

The judicial panel's visit comes even as millions of devotees flocked to the Maha Kumbh to partake in the Hindu pilgrimage held once every 12 years on the banks of Triveni Sangam - the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati.