At least 14 people have been killed and several others injured in two separate incidents involving pilgrims in eastern India, after a stampede at a temple in Bihar and a deadly hotel fire in West Bengal.
Seven devotees were killed and more than a dozen injured in a stampede near the Ashok Dham Temple in Bihar’s Lakhisarai district on Monday. Thousands of worshippers had gathered to offer prayers on the third Monday of Shravan, a sacred month in the Hindu calendar dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva.
Officials said the cause of the stampede remains under investigation. Preliminary reports indicated that an electrical wire snapped outside the temple premises at around 6:30 a.m., triggering panic among devotees who feared electrocution. A section of barricades reportedly collapsed as the crowd surged, causing people to fall and resulting in a crush. More than a dozen injured devotees were taken to a government hospital.
Hours earlier, seven people were killed after a fire broke out at a four-storey hotel in Tarapith, a major pilgrimage town in West Bengal’s Birbhum district. The blaze reportedly began on the ground floor at around 4:30 a.m. while many guests were asleep.
Firefighters brought the blaze under control, while several injured guests were taken to hospital suffering from burns, smoke inhalation and asphyxiation. Hotel management said the fire may have started near the reception area after an electrical component in the building’s power supply system caught fire, though authorities have not yet confirmed the cause.
Many guests at the hotel were pilgrims visiting Tarapith to offer prayers at the town’s prominent temple complex. Authorities are investigating both incidents.
Deadly crowd crushes have occurred repeatedly during large religious gatherings in India. In January 2025, at least 30 people were killed during a crowd crush at the Maha Kumbh festival, while one of the country’s deadliest temple-related incidents in recent decades killed at least 115 people in Madhya Pradesh in 2013.
