At least seven persons lost their lives on Wednesday, December 28, as a stampede-like situation prevailed over Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s rally in Andhra’s Nellore district. Seven more have suffered injuries and are availing treatment in the government hospital, Nellore Superintendent of Police Ch Vijaya Rao told TNM. The death toll is likely to increase as the situation clears, he added.
Among the deceased, six persons have been identified — Devineni Ravindra Babu, Kalvakuri Yanadhi, Yatagiri Vijaya, Kakumani Raja, Marlapati Chinnakondaiah and Purushotham. Speaking to TNM, the Kandakur Sub Inspector confirmed that the accident occurred due to a stampede, as thousands had gathered on the road at the town centre, where the event was conducted. As the crowd swelled and the stampede situation worsened, some people also fell into a drainage ditch at the side of the road. Two-wheelers that were parked above it fell into the ditch, injuring those who had fallen inside. However, the SI confirmed that none of those who fell into the ditch were fatally injured.
Chandrababu Naidu is on a 45-day campaign — Idhem Karma — to highlight the ‘misrule’ of the ruling YSR Congress Party. Videos show that the tragic accident occurred even as he was speaking at the roadshow in Kandakur. Towards the end of his speech, Naidu said that the political meeting turned into a condolence one. “Some people have sacrificed their lives to attend this meeting. It is deeply unfortunate. In such a tragic scenario, it is not proper to continue the meeting,” he said, and observed two minutes of silence for the deceased.
He promised that the party would offer an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh each to the deceased’s family members, and take care of the education expenses of their children through the party’s trust. Further, he said that all the TDP leaders would participate in the funeral of the deceased and take care of their families.
The former Chief Minister visited the hospital where the victims were admitted. He blamed the police for the tragic incident and asked them to be more responsible in crowd management and prevent such untoward incidents. Ending the political rally abruptly, Naidu said that he would visit Kandukur again in the near future.