The death toll in the mishap at Jasol in Rajasthan’s Barmer district, where a large tent collapsed on a crowd of devotees in sudden rain and a squall, climbed to 15 on Monday with an eight-year-boy, shifted to Jodhpur for treatment, succumbing to his injuries.
The deceased, identified as Pokar Ram, was rushed to Jodhpur’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Sunday after he sustained serious injuries and was electrocuted in the incident. Police said a case would be registered against the organisers of the ‘Ram Katha’ event in Jasol after the completion of relief and rescue measures.
CM meets
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met the grieving families of the victims in Jasol and expressed his condolences. He also went to Nahata Government Hospital in Balotra and Mathura Das Mathur Hospital in Jodhpur to meet the injured persons admitted there.
Mr. Gehlot said he had ordered an inquiry into the incident and added that the State government would take steps to prevent such incidents in future on the basis of report of the probe, to be conducted by Jodhpur Divisional Commissioner. “Stringent action will be taken against those whose negligence is proved...I am deeply saddened by the tragedy,” he said.
Assistance announced
The State government has announced financial assistance of ₹5 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased and ₹2 lakh each to those injured.
Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Barmer MP Kailash Chaudhary also visited the hospitals where the injured have been admitted, to enquire about their condition.
Most of those killed were from different villages in the Barmer district, who had come to Jasol village, situated 97 km away from the district headquarters, to attend the ‘Ram Katha’ narrated by Muralidhar Maharaj. The religious congregation, which started on Saturday, was organised by the Mata Rani Bhatiyani Mandir Sansthan of Jasol.