Maha Kumbh: Cop on duty among 30 killed during stampede

A sub-inspector deployed at Sangam Nose during a stampede died after feeling unwell. Anjani Kumar Rai, 48, collapsed post-medication and was declared dead.

A sub-inspector deployed in the Sangam Nose area, where a stampede occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, died later in the evening.

Prayagraj: Security personnel regulate the movement of devotees at Sangam on the occasion of 'Mauni Amavasya', during the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela, in Prayagraj, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (PTI Photo)(PTI01_29_2025_000637B)(PTI)

According to Jhunsi station house officer Pankaj Rai, sub-inspector Anjani Kumar Rai, 48, posted in Bahraich was deployed at the Sangam Nose area on Wednesday morning. After the stampede, he felt uneasy and went to the nearby Mela hospital to seek medication. Follow Maha Kumbh Live Updates

After taking the prescribed medicine by a doctor at the hospital, he felt better and went back to resume his duties, said the SHO. However, after some time the S-I collapsed frothing at the mouth.

Seeing the same, his nephew who had come with him from Bahraich took him to the Mela hospital where he was declared dead. His body had been sent for postmortem after which it would be handed over to his family members, said the SHO.

A Bahraich police spokesperson confirmed that Rai, who was posted with the Bahraich district police, was deployed in Prayagraj for crowd management during Mahakumbh. He further said Rai was a 2011-batch official, who was promoted from the constable rank and was posted as a station officer at different police stations in Bahraich in the past.