Stampede at Bareilly mayor's Raksha Bandhan gathering leaves one dead, three injured

On Thursday, a Raksha Bandhan function organized by Bareilly Mayor Umesh Gautam and his son Parth Gautam at the Bareilly Club ground attracted roughly 20,000 women who were offered gifts and food. As the crowd pressed toward the stage near 3 pm, the surge overwhelmed the venue’s capacity, prompting repeated pleas for patience that went ignored. The crush caused the death of 45-year-old Madhu, wife of former serviceman Bhagwan Singh, who succumbed en route to Mission Hospital, and injured three other women who were later discharged from the district hospital.

Madhu’s brother, Anesh Singh, criticized the lack of adequate security and crowd-control measures. The gathering was coordinated by the Yuva Sewak Sangh and the Parth Gautam Foundation, and police and civic officials have yet to release an official statement.