Seven dead, 75 injured as platform collapses at religious event in UP

A ‘Laddoo Mahotsav’ was organised for ‘abhishek’ of Bhagwan Adinath by Jain community when wooden stairs of platform broke down and the platform collapsed.

Lucknow: Seven people, including three women, died and 75 others injured when a platform, made of bamboo, collapsed during a religious event of the Jain community at Baraut in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat district, about 450 kilometres from here, on Tuesday.

According to the police sources here, the incident happened around eight in the morning at the Digambar Jain Degree College ground in Badaut town.

Reports said that a ‘Laddoo Mahotsav’ was organised for the ‘abhishek’ (offering) of Bhagwan Adinath by the Jain community when the wooden stairs of the platform broke down and the platform collapsed taking down the people who were present on it.

Reports quoting additional district magistrate Pankaj Verma confirmed seven deaths in the incident. A probe has been ordered into the incident. The injured also included the police personnel who were deployed there as part of security.

Eye witnesses said that the injured were taken to the hospitals in auto rickshaws as the ambulances failed to reach the spot in time. The number of dead could go up as some of the injured were stated to be in a critical condition, reports said.

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the incident and directed the officials to provide all possible medical care to the injured.

District officials said that a probe was ordered into the incident. ‘’We will ensure that the guilty are punished,’’ said a senior official in Baghpat.