Statements of 51 stampede witnesses recorded

PATNA: Altogether 51 witnesses of the Gandhi Maidan stampede on October 3 got their statements recorded before the two-member probe committee headed by principal secretary (home) Amir Subhani at the ‘closed door’ public hearing at the collectorate on Tuesday. The entire process was videographed, the committee members said. The hearing will continue on Wednesday.
Subhani assured the witnesses of their safety and said the statements recorded would be perused carefully and appropriate action would follow. Most of the victims were not satisfied by the government arrangements and alleged administrative laxity as the prime cause of the stampede. They also criticized the state government for trying to compensate human lives with money.
One Pramod Gupta of Salimpur Ahra, who lost his mother Gayatri Gupta and sister-in-law Ranjana Devi, was angry with the Manjhi government for the compensation and said he would happily pay double the amount if the “insensitive” government returns them alive. Pramod was allegedly subjected to police high-handedness when he contacted the cops deployed near the Ramgoolam Chowk to know the whereabouts of his family members.
After appearing before the committee, Pramod’s brother and husband of Ranjana, Vinod Gupta, said the stampede occurred due to inadequate light and police deployment. He said the committee did not utter a word about the Cops’ rough behaviour with Pramod. He demanded a high-level investigation into the stampede.
Another witness, Sarita Pandey, an autorickshaw driver who received injuries in the stampede, lashed out at the cops deployed at the gate near Ramgoolam Chowk. “Putla wala Ravan toh mar gaya, lekin vardi wale Ravan toh wahin thhe (though the effigy of Ravan was burned, the ‘Ravans’ in uniform were still there),” she said, pointing out that there were perverts who were busy teasing some girls and women. Sarita was not very sure about getting justice after being heard by the committee.
Jyoti Kumari of PC Colony, Kankarbagh, who works as a domestic help, also raised the molestation issue. Speaking about the medical assistance at PMCH, she said three of her relatives besides herself had to visit a private hospital for treatment as the situation at the PMCH “was pathetic”. She was separated from her 18 months old daughter Arohi during the stampede, but luckily got her back. No compensation was given to Jyoti by the government despite being injured in the incident.