Thousands flock to Puri temple following stampede

India Jun 30, 2025

A tragic stampede broke out early Sunday morning near the Shree Gundicha Temple in Puri during the Rath Yatra festival.
With thousands gathered for the rituals, things turned chaotic when two ritual trucks tried to pass through a packed crowd.
Sadly, three people lost their lives—Premakant Mohanty (80), Basanti Sahu (36), and Pravati Das (42)—and over 50 others were injured, with six in critical condition.

Odisha CM offers condolences, announces compensation

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has offered heartfelt condolences and announced ₹25 lakh compensation for each victim's family.
Two senior police officers have been suspended, and both the Collector and SP have been transferred as authorities look into what went wrong to prevent this from happening again.