The water stall (circled) set up on a footpath near a Kalachowki mandal where the deaths occurred
A local said Dattaram Lad Marg was packed with devotees visiting the Kalachowki mandal as well as the Lalbaug mandal, which was a short distance away. “Crowds were moving in both directions. people could have come in contact with the stall and the accumulated water While jostling for space. The resident blamed police for inadequate crowd control measures this year. “Crowds surged to such an extent that barricades on the footpath broke.
Till last year, entry into Dattaram Lad Marg from B A Ambedkar Road used to be blocked but it wasn’t done this year.”
Tragic Incident Involving Two Victims at Lalbaug
An eight-year-old girl, Raghini Yadav, was tragically killed in a chaotic incident at Lalbaug, where panicking bystanders fell on her. Raghini had recently arrived in the city from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, for her mother’s thyroid treatment. Her father, Ghanshyam, a heavy vehicle driver, was not present with the group that included relatives from Mankhurd, who had taken the children for darshan before returning home.
In a separate incident, 33-year-old Sujata Thodeti was also a victim. She was operating a stall with her husband, Balraj, who was away at the time of the incident. Legal action has been initiated against the stall owner, Kamal Shetty, under sections 106 (1) and 125 (b) of the Indian Penal Code. These sections pertain to causing death by negligent acts and endangering human life, respectively.