Indian authorities have ordered a judicial probe into a deadly stampede that occurred during the Maha Kumbh Mela in 2013, one of the world’s largest religious gatherings. The stampede, which took place on Wednesday, claimed the lives of at least 30 devotees and injured around 90 others, according to police reports.
The tragic incident unfolded as millions of pilgrims converged on the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati rivers in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, to take a “holy dip” believed to absolve sins and offer salvation from the cycle of rebirth. Officials reported that more than 76 million people participated in the dip on that day alone.
Eyewitnesses provided varying accounts of the cause of the stampede. Some described a massive push towards the riverbanks resulting in devotees falling over one another, while others cited the closure of certain routes to the water, leading to overcrowding and suffocation.
“The government has decided that a judicial inquiry of the incident will be conducted,” Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav announced. “A three-member judicial commission will look into the entire matter and submit its report to the state government within a specified time frame.”
Opposition leaders criticized the incident as a result of mismanagement, urging authorities to improve arrangements for the ongoing festival. Local media echoed these concerns, emphasizing the need for better crowd control measures to prevent future tragedies.
“There is much scope for improving crowd management at the Kumbh,” noted an editorial in the Hindustan Times. “There is no doubt that more personnel have to be deployed, and better planning is needed—using both ground resources and modern technology.”
The Maha Kumbh Mela, held every 12 years, had attracted nearly 280 million attendees since it began two weeks prior to the incident. Officials estimated that future festivals could draw approximately 400 million devotees by 2025. The scale of the event dwarfed other large gatherings, such as the Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, which saw 1.8 million participants last year.
With three more ‘royal dips’—dates considered particularly sacred—scheduled before the festival ended, authorities were under pressure to ensure that safety measures were enhanced to prevent a repeat of the tragedy.
