Police bar entry at Kasibugga temple after 9 deaths

Kasibugga (Andhra Pradesh): The Andhra Pradesh police on Sunday barred devotees from entering the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple here in Srikakulam district, following the tragic incident in which nine people were crushed to death during a religious gathering there previous day.

Nine people--eight women and a boy--were killed and several injured at this temple in Kasibugga town on Saturday. Several people were hospitalised with limb fractures and breathlessness.

According to the survivors, the lone gate was closed and a group of devotees who were allowed into the temple for darshan earlier fell along with broken grill suddenly onto large number of people waiting below the staircase, leading to the tragedy.

"We have barred devotees from entering the temple in view of the tragedy," Srikakulam district superintendent of police, KV Maheshwara Reddy told PTI.

Nine bodies were sent for postmortem and later handed over to their families, he said, adding that two persons who sustained serious injuries are now stable, and others have been discharged.

SP said the temple organisers neither sought mandatory permissions nor applied for police protection before conducting the event.

"It is mandatory for temples or religious institutions to inform police in advance for crowd management, irrespective of the turnout," he said.

According to the SP, the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple is a private establishment and was operating without proper approvals. The organisers reportedly failed to comply with safety protocols. Meanwhile, police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).