Indian-origin girl succumbs to injuries, bringing death toll in Astroworld stampede tragedy to 9
Houston(PTI): A 22-year-old Indian-origin student has succumbed to her injuries sustained during the deadly crowd surge at rapper Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival here, taking the death toll in the tragedy to 9, her family has said.
Bharati Shahani, who was about to graduate from Texas A&M University in the spring, died on Wednesday night after suffering a severe brain injury in the tragedy on November 5. She was on a ventilator, according to her family.
A stampede of fans during rap star Scott s Astroworld Festival on Friday night killed nine people between the ages of 14 and 27 and injured scores. An investigation continues into the tragedy.
Bharti's heartbroken family on Thursday confirmed she has been declared dead from injuries she suffered during the chaos at the Astroworld Festival.
"She was like an angel to us. Bharti's father Sunny said as his wife and other family members sobbed and held hands behind him.
"Bharti is love," said mother Karishma, who was overcome by grief.
"Always thinking about everybody friends, parents, family, her dog Blue. They say Bharti was the backbone of the family, "the light of their lives" who was a gift from God.
"She was everything to me," Bharti's younger sister Namrata said. "We did everything together... she was like a second mother to me."
The young Aggie was a first-generation American of Indian origin and a good student who would have graduated soon with a computer science degree. She also helped with the family business and took care of her sisters.
An Aggie is a student at Texas A&M University.
Bharti had never been to a concert before -- rarely did anything for herself, her mom said -- but she decided to go see Travis Scott with Namrata and a cousin.
"She was looking forward to it, she had her outfits planned, she tried everything on, she showed me," Namrata said.
The sisters were holding hands and enjoying the music, but they got separated during the crowd surge. Texas A&M officials released a statement offering their condolences to Bharti's family.
The Aggie family is deeply saddened to learn of Bharti's death. Our deepest condolences go out to her family and friends. We encourage our campus community to be kind and patient with themselves and others as everyone experiences grief in different ways. We also encourage anyone struggling to lean on their peers and professionals who are here to listen and help.
People at the concert described the crowd of about 50,000 as packed and dangerous before the concert even started.
We were drowning. We were drowning. We were dying. We were screaming for help, screaming for the concert to stop, crying, yelling. No one listened. No one cared, her cousin, Mohit Bellani, said.
Bharti, her sister Namrata Shahani and Bellani went to the Travis Scott concert together, but lost contact with each other and lost their cellphones when the crowd surged.
Once one person fell, people started toppling like dominos, Bellani said on the local channel.
It was like a sinkhole. People were falling on top of each other. There were ... layers of bodies on the ground, like two people thick. We were fighting to come up to the top and (to) breathe (and) stay alive. She was a sister, a daughter, a high-achieving college student about to graduate from Texas A&M University with high, high grades, family James Lassiter said.
Bharti's family had set up a GoFundMe to cover high medical expenses at the ICU, with over USD 79,184 raised as of now.
Another South Asian, Danish Baig, 27, was killed during the crowd rush while trying to save his fiancee, his brother was quoted as saying by local media.
Pakistani-American Danish, from Euless, Texas, fell during the chaos and was trampled by concertgoers while trying to protect Olivia Swingle.
"Travis Scott and his team and everyone associated in the event should and will be held responsible. He [didn't] stop the show even with people chanting and to stop the show. He allowed it. This was a bloodbath and all of it is on his hands," his brother said.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday announced the formation of a concert safety task force that will convene members including music industry representatives, law enforcement and state agencies to issue recommendations on how to keep concerts safe.
"Live music is a source of joy, entertainment, and community for so many Texans and the last thing concertgoers should have to worry about is their safety and security," Abbott said in a statement.
Scott and event organisers have come under intense scrutiny for how they handled a crowd surge that injured hundreds.
I'm absolutely devastated by what took place last night, the rapper said in a statement the day after the incident. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at the Astroworld Festival.
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Passing out parade held at IMA Dehradun, 491 young officers join Indian Army
Dehradun(PTI): After undergoing rigorous training at the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun, 491 cadets participated in a grand Passing Out Parade on Saturday and will now be commissioned as officers in the Indian Army.
The spectacular parade, held at the historic Drill Square in front of the academy's Chatwood Building, was reviewed by Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi, who served as the reviewing officer.
Along with 491 Indian cadets, 34 foreign cadets from 14 friendly countries also participated in the Autumn Term 2025 Passing Out Parade.
A total of 525 officer cadets from the 157th Regular Course, 46th Technical Entry Scheme, 140th Technical Graduate Course, 55th Special Commissioned Officers Course, and Territorial Army Online Entrance Exam 2023 Course participated in the Passing Out Parade.
The 'Sword of Honour' and gold medal for securing first place during training was awarded to ACA Nishkal Dwivedi, the silver medal to BUO Badal Yadav for second place, and the bronze medal to SUO Kamaljeet Singh for third place.
The silver medal for securing first place in the 'Technical Graduate Course' was awarded to Officer Cadet Jadhav Sujit Sampat, and the silver medal for first place in the 'Technical Entry Scheme-46' was awarded to WCC Abhinav Mehrotra.
The silver medal for the 'Special Commission Officer Course' was given to Officer Cadet Sunil Kumar Chhetri.
Among the foreign cadets, the first place in merit was secured by JUO Mohammad Safin Ashraf from Bangladesh. The Army Chief's Banner for overall best performance in the Autumn Term was awarded to Imphal Company.
As the parade concluded, helicopters showered flowers on the newly commissioned officers from the sky.
On this occasion, General Dwivedi congratulated the new officers in his address for successfully completing their training. He praised the young officers for their high level of discipline, leadership qualities, and endurance, and urged them to uphold the glorious traditions of the Indian Army and serve the nation with loyalty, commitment, and honour.
General Dwivedi said that joining the army marks the beginning of a lifelong duty and selfless service.
The parents and guardians of the newly commissioned officers were also present during the passing out parade.
