Woman Dead, Several Injured after Near-stampede at Rudraksh Mahotsav in MP

A woman died and several others were injured after a "stampede-like situation" at the Rudraksh Mahotsav organised by 'godman' and spiritual preacher Pradeep Mishra in Madhya Pradesh's Sehore district on Thursday, police said.

At least three women were also reported missing from the spot.

The two-day Rudraksh Mahotsav began on Thursday at Kubereshwar Dham in Sehore - the home district of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and a large number of people from different districts of the state as well from neighbouring Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan gathered the to receive Rudraksha beads.

The woman who died has been identified as Manglaa Bai, 50, of Maharashtra.

"Mangala Bai, a resident of Malegaon in Nashik district of Maharashtra, suddenly fell ill, fell down, and died. Three women from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh, Gangapur in Rajasthan and Buldhana in Maharashtra went missing and the family members have filed complaints at the police station," Mandi police station ASI Dharam Singh Verma said.

The arrival of more than expected people has not only disturbed the arrangement at the venue but also created long hours of traffic snarls on several roads connecting to Sehore. As per the police, over 20,000 vehicles were stuck in a traffic jam on the Indore-Bhopal highway since early on Thursday.

Vipin Kumar, who was going to Sehore, told IANS on Thursday night that he was stuck on traffic since morning. "Police personnel were trying hard to clear traffic, but the situation was pathetic due to heavy crowed and a large number of vehicles on road. Families with little children were stuck and many of them fell ill due to unavailability of water," he said over phone.

According to police and district administration officials,over five lakh people reached Kubeshwar dham to collect Rudraksh being distributed by Mishra.

Mishra, meanwhile, accused the administration of mismanagement. "People are afraid of death. They said they will not go to Kedarnath. It is very cold there, what if something happens. If death has to come, it will come so people shouldn't be afraid of death," he said.

Chouhan was also about to visit the programme but cancelled it after news of the chaos.