Woman dead and 17 devotees injured as ‘jagran’ stage collapses at Kalkaji temple

New Delhi: A woman died and 17 devotees were injured when a stage set up for a religious function, attended by singer B Praak, at the Kalkaji temple here collapsed on Sunday, police said.

The incident occurred around 12.30 am when an elevated wooden platform, supported by an iron frame, set up near the main stage for the families of the organisers and VIPs broke from the middle, Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) Rajesh Deo said.

The platform could not bear the weight of the people sitting on it and collapsed, injuring those seated on it and close to it on the ground, he said, adding that no prior permission had been granted for the event.

Around 1,600 people attended the ‘jagran’ (religious function) which was organised at the Mahant Parisar of Kalkaji temple on Saturday, police said.

Singer B Praak performed at the jagran. According to sources, he had left the venue before the incident happened.

Praak shared a video message on his Instagram profile expressing grief over the tragic incident and wished for the speedy recovery of the injured.

The deceased has been identified as Tina, a resident of Tughlakabad extension, who is survived by her husband and three sons, police said.

According to police sources, the temple management had hired event planners to organise the jagran. No arrests have been made so far.

An FIR has been registered against the organisers and a probe is underway, police said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal condoled the death of the woman and wished for the speedy recovery of the injured.

“The accident that happened last night during a ‘jagran’ at the Kalkaji temple is tragic. A woman has died, may her soul rest in peace. I wish for the speedy recovery of the 17 injured people,” Kejriwal said in a post on ‘X’ in Hindi.

“I appeal to people of Delhi to take special care of safety standards in any kind of big event and make arrangements in such a way that no untoward incident happens,” he added.

The DCP said no prior permission had been granted for the event at the temple.

“However, sufficient staff was deployed to maintain law and order. There was a gathering of around 1,500 to 1,600 people at around 12.30 am on Sunday,” he said.

A witness, Varun, said there was a large gathering at the temple as singer B Praak was present.

“All of a sudden, the stage collapsed and those who were sitting close to the stage received injuries. The singer had left by that time,” he said.

Another person who was present at the temple said he heard a loud noise and saw people running out.

“It was a stampede-like situation. Everyone was running for their lives. I was outside the temple when I got to know that the stage collapsed and some people received injuries,” he added.

Among those who attended the function but returned home early because of the huge rush at the temple was 20-year-old Suman Kanojia from Chirag Delhi said, “I went there with a relative at around 10 pm and returned by 11 pm because it was so crowded. We thought of staying there a little longer but thankfully we didn’t.”

“There was a huge crowd. There were temple volunteers around to manage the crowd but no policemen,” Kanojia claimed.

Pushpa Singh (38) from Shahpur Jat too counted her lucky stars.

“I went there with another person around 9 pm and it was overcrowded. Even the parking lot was full of people. We left around 10.30 pm. I am just thanking my stars that we left before it happened.”

The injured were rushed to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, Safdarjung Hospital and Max hospitals by police and the public.

“The fire brigade was called to the spot. Seventeen people were stated to have been injured. A 45-year-old woman (Tina) was brought dead at the Max Hospital,” Deo said, adding that a Delhi Police crime team visited the spot later.

“Tina’s husband works as a vegetable seller. They have three sons. Her body has been sent for post-mortem,” the officer said.

The condition of all those injured is stated to be stable, even though some of them have sustained fractures, he added.

An FIR under sections 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 304A (causing death by negligence) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC was registered against the organisers and further probe into the matter has been launched, the DCP said. Director of Delhi Fire Service Atul Garg said his department was informed about the incident at 12.45 am. With agency inputs