Guntur stampede: Andhra CM Jagan Reddy announces Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia to kin of deceased

Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], January 2 : After three people were killed and several others injured in a stampede at Telugu Desam Party president Chandrababu Naidu's public meeting in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased.
Chief Minister Jagan Reddy expressed shock over the stampede incident. He also announced ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 to the injured persons. He also instructed officials to provide quality medical treatment to the injured, said the statement from Chief Minister's Office (CMO).
Three persons were killed and several others injured in a stampede at TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu's public meeting in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur on Sunday, police said.
Following the incident, Naidu expressed shock and announced Rs 5 lakh financial assistance to each bereaved family.
"It is really painful that three persons died in the stampede that took place after I left the venue as the programme was complete. I attended the programme only to encourage that voluntary organisation which is trying to help the poor," Naidu said in releasing a statement.
According to the police, three women lost their lives and several other people were injured in the stampede. The injured were then moved to the hospital.
"Three people died and several were injured during a public meeting held by TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu in Guntur district," Arif Hafeez, Superintendent of Police, Guntur said.
The police said that Chandrababu Naidu had planned to present gifts for the upcoming festival Pongal. The TDP leaders arranged the public meeting at 2 pm on Sunday.
"Naidu left the meeting after its completion, however, the public rushed to collect the gifts leading to a stampede," the police said.
A victim woman Siva Parvathi, who also sustained injuries, said, "Nobody cares about our lives. The TDP leaders called us for the meeting and told us that they would give us gifts. We were waiting for the gifts. Many people were injured in the stampede. Nobody came to our rescue during the stampede."
Notably, this is the second such incident occurring in the TDP chief's public meeting in a week. Eight people died in a stampede on December 28 last year in Nellore.
The Andhra Pradesh police had earlier said that the seven TDP workers had lost their lives during a stampede at a public meeting held by party leader N Chandrababu Naidu in Kandukuru of Andhra Pradesh's Nellore on Wednesday. However, one more person succumbed to the injuries in the midnight hours.
Following the Nellore incident, N Chandrababu Naidu announced financial assistance of Rs 10 lakhs each to the families of the deceased. He also said that the children of those deceased will be educated in the NTR Trust educational institutions.