Woman dies, some faint scrambling for BJP mayor's rakhi gifts
What's the story
A stampede-like situation broke out at a Raksha Bandhan event organized by Bareilly BJP Mayor Umesh Gautam and his son Parth on Thursday at the Bareilly Club ground. The deceased has been identified as Madhu, a 45-year-old woman who was critically injured in the crowd surge and later died on her way to Mission Hospital.
Twitter Post
Visuals show crowd
During a #RakshaBandhan event organized by Mayor Dr. Umesh Gautam in #Bareilly, severe disorganization and a stampede ensued, resulting in the death of one woman, while several others fell ill.
— Siraj Noorani (@sirajnoorani) August 27, 2026
Lured by coupons, nearly 20,000 women showed up. The massive crowd of women led to… pic.twitter.com/pvXNG9fQ9M
Event details
Women rushed toward the stage
The event, organized by the Yuva Sewak Sangh and Parth Gautam Foundation, started at 10:00am and went off without a hitch for several hours.
Women from Bareilly and nearby tehsils came to tie rakhis on the mayor and his son.
This year, around 20,000 women were invited, up from last year's 15,000, with promises of gifts and food.
However, things took a turn around 3:00pm when more women than expected rushed toward the stage.
Security lapse
Madhu's brother alleges lack of security arrangements
Despite repeated announcements from the stage asking for patience and cooperation, the crowd continued to surge.
Three other women were injured in the stampede and were given first aid at a district hospital before being discharged.
Madhu's brother, Anesh Singh, alleged that there were not enough security personnel or crowd management arrangements for such a large gathering.
Police and civic officials are yet to comment on this incident.