Latest news with #TaraDevi
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Kumbh Mela: BBC investigation reveals hidden deaths at India festival crush
Warning: The story contains distressing details A BBC Hindi investigation reveals that Indian officials quietly paid compensation to the families of more people than they admit died in a deadly crowd crush at the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu festival which is the world's largest religious official death toll is 37, but the BBC found 26 additional cases where families received partial compensation in cash, and 18 more deaths where no payment was 25 March, a team of plain-clothed police officers from India's northern Uttar Pradesh (UP) state arrived in neighbouring Bihar with bundles of team visited Gopalganj city, where they met the family of 62-year-old Tara Devi. They handed over 500,000 rupees ($5,758; £4,291) in cash to her son, Dhananjay Gond, and asked him to record a statement on the video, Dhananjay introduces himself, saying: "My mother Tara Devi and I went to the Kumbh Mela for a holy dip. My mother died. Officers from UP came and gave us 500,000 rupees. We have received it."Dhananjay says his mother was killed in the crowd crush in the city of Prayagraj in UP on 29 UP government has not yet released an official list of the crush victims. Tara Devi's son says police told him the money he got was the first instalment of the 2.5m rupees officially promised to victims' families. Dhananjay says he hasn't received the remaining 2m rupees. The UP government says it has paid 2.5m rupees each to the families of 35 victims (of the 37 deaths, one victim remains unidentified, and another does not have a legal heir). A three-member judicial commission set up to investigate the incident and submit a report within a month has had its tenure BBC, however, found one more family which was given a cheque of 2.5m rupees. For the other 35 victims, the compensation was transferred to relatives' bank from this, the BBC found 26 cases - including that of Tara Devi - where police paid 500,000 rupees in cash at people's many instances, officials had families sign documents blaming health issues for the deaths, despite them insisting that their relatives died in the crush. (The UP government typically does not compensate for natural deaths during the Kumbh, held every 12 years.)The BBC also confirmed 18 deaths where no compensation was given (excluding the case mentioned above where there was no legal heir).It also found evidence of four separate crush incidents in Prayagraj on 29 January, despite Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's claim that only one occurred at what is called the Sangam nose - the point of confluence of three sacred rivers, Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical the weeks after the Kumbh crush, the BBC met over 100 families across 11 states in India, who claimed their relatives died in the tragedy. It verified 82 deaths in total with concrete evidence, excluding cases lacking reports from scene of India's Kumbh Mela crushFamilies mourn loved ones who died in Kumbh Mela crush Some families hold post-mortems, morgue slips, death certificates, or photos and videos as proof. The BBC cross-checked local newspaper reports and spoke to district reporters to trace where bodies were received, mapped these locations, and then visited the victims' BBC interviewed families and eyewitnesses to reconstruct timelines for each case - when the victims left for the holy dip, the time of the crush, nearby landmarks, the distance from the bathing site and the immediate these detailed accounts, clear patterns emerged, leading to the identification of four crush locations: Sangam Nose, Jhusi side of Samudrakup Chauraha, Airavat Marg, and Mukti Marg Chauraha near Kalpavriksha of the full 2.5m-rupee compensation cases list the death location as "Ward No. 7, Fort Cantt, Prayagraj", about 1.5km (0.9 miles) from Sangam contrast, the cases that received 500,000 rupees mostly mention "Sector-20 or Sector-21, Kumbh Mela area, Jhusi". Some of these families claim their relatives also died near Sangam Nose, but that their certificates wrongly cite Jhusi - possibly to downplay the scale of the tragedy for the 18 families which did not receive any compensation, there does not seem to be a common thread binding instance, at one crush location, the BBC identified five bodies through photos and the numbers issued during post-death formalities. Of these, the families of three victims received 500,000 rupees in cash, while the other two received nothing. Some other families have photographs from the day of the crush which show bodies of their relatives, but these deaths have not been acknowledged by the BBC repeatedly tried to contact UP government officials, emailing the information department and district magistrate. Despite promises by the district magistrate's office, no call was arranged. Attempts to reach the UP police chief went unanswered, while Prayagraj's police commissioner at the time of the incident, Tarun Gaba, and Mela officer Vijay Kiran Anand refused to answer BBC has also found evidence of deaths in crushes that took place at locations other than the Sangam Nose, which the government has acknowledged through giving some compensation. In UP's Jaunpur, Dharmbir Rajbhar received 500,000 rupees each for the deaths of his wife and daughter-in-law in the Airavat Marg crush.A video shot by the BBC on 29 January shows the family sitting with both bodies at the site. Back home, Rajbhar displayed the cash bundles and said, "The government promised 2.5m rupees, but the police gave only 500,000 rupees each and left."The UP police also travelled hundreds of kilometres to Paschim Bardhaman in West Bengal, where they handed over 500,000 rupees to the family of Vinod all families accepted the amount, though. In Bihar, the relatives of Sunaina Devi rejected it. They told the BBC that they refused to "sign false documents".Watch: Belongings strewn aside after India crushThirty killed in crowd crush at India's Kumbh Mela festivalThe BBC also identified at least five families who lost their relatives near Kalpavriksha Gate, about 3-4km from Sangam Devi, the wife of Panne Lal Sahni, says that her husband died around 8am on 29 January. "People were stepping over his body. I sat in the sun with his corpse until 4pm. No-one even gave us water," she says. The family received 500,000 rupees in of all five people who died near the Kalpavriksha Gate, had similar stories to narrate - they sat with the bodies from morning till time, 18 more families came forward claiming their relatives died in the crush but they haven't received compensation the 18 is Meena Pandey from Sultanpur, UP, who travelled to the Kumbh with her husband, and neighbour Archana Singh. Archana recalls sitting with Meena's body at the crush site until 3pm - seven hours after the claims of 2,750 AI-enabled CCTVs, 50,000 security personnel, drones and ambulances, no help arrived, relatives afternoon the body had begun to decay, says Archana."We had no choice but to carry it home in our vehicle." Like Meena Pandey's family, relatives of Shyamlal Gond from UP's Deoria are still waiting for son, Bhagirathi Gond, works as a daily wage labourer in Bengaluru. After the crush, he travelled to Prayagraj looking for his father, and reached the hospital on 3 to a slip from the hospital, Shyamlal Gond was brought in dead at 10.02 local time on 29 January."My father was listed as unidentified. To maintain records, they [hospital staff] had kept a file. They took a photo of the body in the condition it was found and pasted it into a register."He adds, "It was difficult to identify him through the photo. After the fall, his head was bent down, chest pushed upward, and his face had slightly turned."Bhagirathi says the hospital staff would not give him a death certificate or any other papers."They told me to take the body, but I said I would only do so if some official procedure was followed," he took four months before he got the death certificate. But he is still waiting for compensation for his loss."The government has still not acknowledged that my father died in the crush."Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
NDTV
6 days ago
- NDTV
UP Man Gets Life In Jail For Killing Stepmother Over Land Dispute
Ballia: A court here has sentenced a man to life imprisonment after he was found guilty of culpable homicide of his stepmother nearly five years ago over a family dispute, police said. Additional Sessions Judge Gyan Prakash Tiwari also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him for the crime. According to the prosecution, the incident took place on October 3, 2020, in Parasiya village under the Rasra police station limits, where 45-year-old Tara Devi was attacked with a sharp weapon on her neck, leading to her death. An FIR was lodged based on a written complaint by Tara Devi, in which she named her husband Shribhagwan Chaurasia and stepson Dharmveer Chaurasia alias Pankaj as accused and relevant sections of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code were levelled against them. After investigation, the police filed a chargesheet against both. Police said Shribhagwan Chaurasia had two marriages. From his first marriage, he had three daughters and a son, Pankaj. While two daughters were already married, the family was preparing for the third daughter's wedding. Pankaj had reportedly been pressuring his stepmother Tara Devi to sell land purchased in her name to fund the marriage. The dispute over the sale of the land escalated, culminating in Pankaj killing Tara Devi with a sharp weapon. Ballia Superintendent of Police Omveer Singh said on Thursday, Additional Sessions Judge Gyan Prakash Tiwari, after hearing both sides, found Dharmveer Chaurasia alias Pankaj guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 10,000. However, due to lack of evidence, the court acquitted Shribhagwan Chaurasia, Tara Devi's husband, in the case.
The Print
6 days ago
- The Print
UP court sentences man to life imprisonment for killing stepmother over dispute
According to the prosecution, the incident took place on October 3, 2020, in Parasiya village under the Rasra police station limits, where 45-year-old Tara Devi was attacked with a sharp weapon on her neck, leading to her death. Additional Sessions Judge Gyan Prakash Tiwari also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him for the crime. Ballia (UP), Jun 27 (PTI) A court here has sentenced a man to life imprisonment after he was found guilty of culpable homicide of his stepmother nearly five years ago over a family dispute, police said. An FIR was lodged based on a written complaint by Tara Devi, in which she named her husband Shribhagwan Chaurasia and stepson Dharmveer Chaurasia alias Pankaj as accused and relevant sections of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code were levelled against them. After investigation, the police filed a chargesheet against both. Police said Shribhagwan Chaurasia had two marriages. From his first marriage, he had three daughters and a son, Pankaj. While two daughters were already married, the family was preparing for the third daughter's wedding. Pankaj had reportedly been pressuring his stepmother Tara Devi to sell land purchased in her name to fund the marriage. The dispute over the sale of the land escalated, culminating in Pankaj killing Tara Devi with a sharp weapon. Ballia Superintendent of Police Omveer Singh said on Thursday, Additional Sessions Judge Gyan Prakash Tiwari, after hearing both sides, found Dharmveer Chaurasia alias Pankaj guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 10,000. However, due to lack of evidence, the court acquitted Shribhagwan Chaurasia, Tara Devi's husband, in the case. PTI COR KIS SKY SKY This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Hindustan Times
UP man gets life imprisonment for stepmother's murder 5 years ago over dispute
A court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment after he was found guilty of culpable homicide of his stepmother nearly five years ago over a family dispute, police said. The accused was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment along with a fine of ₹ 10,000. (File photo)(Pixabay/ Representational) Additional Sessions Judge Gyan Prakash Tiwari also imposed a fine of ₹ 10,000 on him for the crime. According to the prosecution, the incident took place on October 3, 2020, in Parasiya village under the Rasra police station limits, where 45-year-old Tara Devi was attacked with a sharp weapon on her neck, leading to her death. An FIR was lodged based on a written complaint by Tara Devi, in which she named her husband Shribhagwan Chaurasia and stepson Dharmveer Chaurasia alias Pankaj as accused and relevant sections of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code were levelled against them. After investigation, the police filed a chargesheet against both. Police said Shribhagwan Chaurasia had two marriages. From his first marriage, he had three daughters and a son, Pankaj. While two daughters were already married, the family was preparing for the third daughter's wedding. Pankaj had reportedly been pressuring his stepmother Tara Devi to sell land purchased in her name to fund the marriage. The dispute over the sale of the land escalated, culminating in Pankaj killing Tara Devi with a sharp weapon. Ballia Superintendent of Police Omveer Singh said on Thursday, Additional Sessions Judge Gyan Prakash Tiwari, after hearing both sides, found Dharmveer Chaurasia alias Pankaj guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment along with a fine of ₹ 10,000. However, due to lack of evidence, the court acquitted Shribhagwan Chaurasia, Tara Devi's husband, in the case.
Hindustan Times
7 days ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Staff crunch at PGI test counters adds to patients' woes
Inadequate staff at the Sample Collection Centre of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) is adding to the woes of patients, who have to stand for hours in long queues at multiple counters to get their tests done. Inadequate staff at the Sample Collection Centre of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) is adding to the woes of patients, who have to stand for hours in long queues at multiple counters to get their tests done. (HT photo) In the New OPD Building of the PGIMER, tests are conducted from 8 am to 1pm and on a daily basis about 7,000 blood samples are collected. In room No. 25, there are three medical record technicians dealing on an average with over 1,500 patients. One has to follow a tedious process to get their tests done in PGI. Firstly, the patient stands in the queue at counter No. 6,7 or 23, 24 for tests' payment. On counter No. 23 that is for payment of X-ray, ultrasound, CT scan and MRI, there is one worker accepting payment for male, female, senior citizens and PGI staff categories that have separate lines. Due to one person accepting all payments, different lines often get merged up and senior citizens suffer the most due to the chaotic situation. Ranjit Kaur, 60, who had come from Gurdaspur for her back pain, couldn't find a line for senior citizens at counter No. 23 as she wanted to make payment for her MRI test. Due to the limited time-frame for tests at PGIMER i.e. 8 am to 1pm, patients start gathering outside the sample collection room and payment counters from 6 am onwards. After making the payment for blood sample tests at counter no. 6 or 7, the patient has to stand in another line at room no. 25 where barcodes with patient names are generated. To get the barcodes, patients wait for almost 2 hours and it can increase depending on the rush. Having received the barcode, patients stand in another line to give samples. The entire process consumes 3-4 hours. Though it is not compulsory to get one's tests done inside PGIMER, due to authentic results and on doctor's insistence patients tend to get them done at the institute only. Tara Devi, 42, standing in line for her 55-year-old relative, said, 'I have been standing in line since 8.30 am and more than one-and-a-half hour has passed but it looks like the line is not moving'. Another attendant, Aiysha, standing in line for her mother, said, 'I have been standing in line since 8 am for my mother who got an eye stroke. A few women came later and stood in front of us due to which our turn came very late'. Director of PGIMER Dr Vivek Lal said, 'Though on all 52 sanctioned posts of medical record technicians, outsourced workers have been hired, we'll see if we can increase their number. In addition, we are keenly following the computer upgrade work so that things get automated and people don't have to stand in queues for registration and other things,'
