Report on Vaishno Devi temple stampede yet to be made public

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, January 31

It has been a month, but no responsibility has been fixed in connection with the stampede at Vaishno Devi temple in Katra of Jammu that left 12 dead and over 15 injured. The inquiry report has also not been made public, inviting criticism. After the January 1 incident, an inquiry committee, comprising Principal Secretary (Home) Shaleen Kabra, Jammu ADGP Mukesh Singh and Jammu Divisional Commissioner Raghav Langer, had been set up.

Who’s responsible?

• It has been a month since the stampede took place in Vaishno Devi temple in Katra, killing 12 and injuring 15, but no one has been held responsible so far.
• Demanding an FIR against the guilty, the Congress questions reason behind not making public the inquiry report.

Ravinder Sharma, chief spokesperson of the J&K Congress, said, “This is an utter failure of the J&K government. The temple management was in a shambles due to which the incident occurred. Neither the responsibility has been fixed nor the officials responsible for conducting the inquiry have brought the facts in public domain even after one month,” said Sharma.

“In a democracy, the inquiry should have been made public. This is like a dictatorship where officials decide what should be told to people,” Sharma said, adding that an FIR should be lodged against the guilty.

Attempts to have comments from Shaleen Kabra proved futile as he neither received calls nor responded to messages. Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board’s CEO Ramesh Kumar had earlier said that he couldn’t comment on the inquiry.

Advocate Ankur Sharma, president of Ikk Jutt Jammu, said he had already filed a case with the J&K High Court for the temples’ management to be handed over to the Hindu community.

“An independent inquiry should have been conducted, but a committee of IAS and IPS officers was formed for probe. Will these officials accuse their own colleagues of failure?” he asked.