No data on Maha Kumbh stampede maintained by central govt, says MoS Home Nityanand Rai
New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI): Inquiry into the Maha Kumbh stampede was conducted by the Uttar Pradesh government and no data on casualties and injured victims is maintained with the central government, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai shared the information while replying to a question by Congress MPs KC Venugopal and Kirsan Namdeo on the number of people killed and injured in the stampede and the steps taken by the authorities to investigate the causes.
Rai said "public order" and "police" were state subjects, according to the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
Organisation of religious congregations, crowd management, provision of amenities to devotees, prevention of any type of disaster during congregations, etc are closely linked to "public order", which is a state subject, he added.
"Conducting of any type of inquiry into any type of disasters occurred in a state, including stampedes, and provision of financial assistance to families of deceased devotees and injured persons, also come under the purview of the concerned state governments. State governments are competent to deal with such situations. No such data is maintained centrally," he said in a written reply.
The Union minister said the National Disaster Management Authority had circulated detailed guidelines on crowd management at events and venues of mass gathering. Guidelines on crowd control were also issued by the Bureau of Police Research and Development.
He said the Union home ministry had issued an advisory to all states and Union territories, advising them to use these templates to prepare their own standard operating procedures for crowd management and devise a checklist for the appropriate authorities.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Inspector General of Police Vaibhav Krishna had said the stampede January 29 stampede during the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj left 30 pilgrims dead and 60 injured.
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'Would've been better if she was never born': Mother of Meerut woman accused of killing her husband
Meerut (UP), Mar 19 (PTI): "Saurabh left both his job and family for Muskan but she took his life," said the parents of the woman arrested for the murder of her Merchant Navy officer husband in Meerut, expressing deep remorse over her actions.
Her father even called for death penalty for Muskan Rastogi and her lover Sahil who allegedly stabbed Saurabh Rajput to death, cut up his body and sealed the remains in a drum filled with cement.
"It would have been better if she was never born," Muskan's mother, Kavita Rastogi, told local reporters on Wednesday.
Muskan's parents, Kavita and Pramod Rastogi, said they supported Saurabh's family's demand for justice.
They said that Muskan had lived separately from her in-laws since her marriage in 2016. "Muskan did not get along well with her in-laws either," Kavita said.
"I know that Saurabh loved her a lot. Saurabh's parents have property worth crores, but Saurabh left that too for her. Even after that, she fell in love with Sahil Shukla. He made Muskan addicted to drugs. Muskan lost 10 kg because of drug use. Actually, our girl was the insolent one."
Muskan's father, Pramod Rastogi, demanded the death penalty for Muskan and Sahil. "Muskan has lost the right to live. Such a person does not have the right to live," he said.
Saurabh's mother, Renu Devi, expressed her grief and said Muskan drove Saurabh away from her and they started living in a rented place. "I tolerated everything for the happiness of my son and daughter-in-law. Now she has killed my son."
According to police, Saurabh had been missing since March 4. Based on a complaint by the victim's brother, Muskan and Sahil were arrested on Tuesday and were presented to the court on Wednesday. The court has sent them to a 14-day judicial custody.
