Stampede at registration drive for pharamacists in Mulund, four injured

The injured persons were taken to the hospital. (Representational)

Four persons were injured in a stampede during a registration drive for pharamacists in Mulund early on Friday. Police said hundreds of students had gathered outside the office of the Maharashtra State Pharmacy Council to register for the license when the incident took place.

The injured persons were taken to the hospital. While three were discharged, one of the injured, Aniket Shringare, was admitted to Fortis Hospital with an ear injury.

According to the police, the students had started gathering outside the office building with their parents since 6 am. The incident took place at 9.15 am when there was a sudden downpour.

“The gates were about to open in 15 minutes, but still, the authorities chose to keep us outside when it started raining. As we had documents in our hands, we started looking for cover due to which there was a chaos and it led to the (stampede) incident. Even the gate of the office building was broken,” said Kalyani Kachare, a student from Jalna.

The student added: “I came to Mumbai on Thursday to register for the pharmacy licence and I had been standing in the queue since 6 am.”

Candidates with diploma and degrees from pharmacy colleges in Maharashtra had turned up in large numbers for the registration, the
police said. “Usually, at least 200 people come for registrations, but on Friday, there were more than 700 people, which led to the incident,” said an officer.

The online registration process was to begin from August 7. But students opted to queue up outside the council’s office gate at R-square building on LBS in Mulund.

“This was the first time when the pharmacy registration could be done online and as we weren’t aware of the procedure, we decided to come to Mumbai,” said another student, Ashok Wagh, a resident of Paithan in Aurangabad.

Senior Police Inspector Sripath Kale from Mulund Police Station confirmed that four persons had sustained minor injuries.