Jaipur: Two devotees from Rajasthan lost their lives in the recent stampede that occurred in the wee hours of Wednesday at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh in which 30 people were killed and 60 were injured.
The victims who had travelled to Prayagraj to participate in the sacred Mauni Amavasya bath, were identified as Nihali Devi (60) from Ajmer, and Baldev Singh (58) from Dholpur.
According to reports, Nihali Devi had gone to Prayagraj with her husband, Ramnarayan Bairwa.
Before arriving for the Maha Kumbh bath January 27, she had visited the Ram temple in Mathura, Vrindavan, and Ayodhya January 22, with a group of 50 pilgrims.
Around 1:30 AM January 28, just 300 metres from the Sangam coast, a stampede broke out, separating Nihali from her husband.
Ramnarayan searched desperately but could not find her. The next day, January 29, at noon, he received information from the control room that Nihali’s body was at a hospital in Lucknow.
He travelled there and later returned to his village Thursday afternoon with her body.
Baldev Singh, a resident of Nidhera Khurd in the Kolari area of Dholpur, also perished in the stampede while returning from his bath.
He had travelled to Prayagraj by train with five companions. His family is expected to reach Dholpur with his body by Friday morning.
Among those missing after the stampede is 60-year-old Supyar Devi from Bhankrota, Jaipur. She had travelled to the Kumbh with her husband, Durgalal Meena, and has been unaccounted for since the stampede incident. Durgalal has filed a missing persons report at the Samudra Koop police station near the Kumbh site in Prayagraj.
Supyar Devi’s son, Rajendra Meena, a resident of Madhorajpura in Bhankrota, said his parents had left for the Maha Kumbh with fellow villagers on the evening of January 27. He received a call from his father informing him about his missing mother. Rajendra has since left Jaipur to search for her.
Another missing devotee is Rajkumari Pareek from Amer, Jaipur. She had travelled to Prayagraj with her family January 29 and was last seen at 6 am Wednesday.
Pyari Devi (70), wife of Mohanlal Sargara from Mandia Road, Shiv Colony, Pali, also got separated from her group in the chaos Wednesday.
Her companions searched for her but were unable to locate her. Fortunately, she later found assistance from a group of people dressed in traditional Rajput attire and was safely reunited with her group.
Authorities continue their efforts to locate the missing devotees as families anxiously await news of their loved ones.
IANS
