Vaishno Devi stampede: Jammu Divisional Commissioner issues public notice, says 'any person desiring to furnish any facts, evidence may appear before Enquiry Committee on January 5

A day after the stampede took place at Vaishno Devi shrine in which a total of twelve persons died and 16 were injured, Divisional Commissioner Jammu on Sunday issued a public notice regarding the accident.

A high level 3 member committee headed by Principal Secretary to the Government, Home Department, J&K has been constituted to ascertain the reasons behind tragic incident.

Divisional Commissioner Dr. Raghav Langer said, "any person who desires to furnish any facts, statements,evidence may share the same...,any person who desires to meet in person, may appear before Enquiry Committee in person on January 5."

Meanwhile, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today announced an additional Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia to the next of kin who died in the stampede. Now, an ex-gratia of Rs 15 lakhs will be given to their families.

The Lieutenant Governor also chaired a high-level meeting of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board.

A total of twelve persons died and 16 were injured in the stampede at the Vaishno Devi shrine. Nine of the injured were discharged from the hospital.

The stampede took place at around 2:15 am near gate no. 3 at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan. Police said that as per initial reports, an argument broke out which resulted in people pushing each other, followed by the stampede.

The Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Concerns were raised over the unfortunate accident that took place in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Speaking to ANI, a pilgrim, Gaurav Ahuja, from New Delhi, said that the authorities have been stricter for the past two days and urged the devotees to remain in the queue and wait for their turn to get into the shrine.

"They have been quite strict for the past two days. Earlier they were not as strict. The public is feeling much better now," he said. "I have come with my family for the darshan. We came to know just a day before coming that there was a stampede. So I would urge the devotees to remain in the queue without pushing others so that such circumstances do not arise again," the devotee added.

Another pilgrim Girish also hailing from New Delhi said that the arrangement is good and appealed to the devotees to follow the rules and regulations set by the government for smooth functioning of the shrine.