Mithibai College says ‘overcrowding’, but no stampede at Divine concert

Eight injured: Principal says chaos started after people tried to force way in after it was made clear passes were compulsory

A day after eight students were injured during a concert held at Mithibai College, college authorities said that online publicity contributed to overcrowding, but refused to describe the incident as a stampede.

David Bangera, 15, who fractured his collar bone (HT Photo)

Thursday was “Pro-nite” during an event titled Colosseum Fest, organised annually by Mithibai College. The big draw was rapper Vivian Fernandes, who goes by the stage name Divine. He was to perform at JRM ground, in Vile Parle. Authorities said JRM ground has a holding capacity of 4,000 people and 3,000 passes were sold. However, many more turned up. “The fact that the performer himself also shared information about his performance on social media sites attracted more public in the evening. We made it very clear that those without physical passes will not be allowed to enter the venue and that’s when the chaos started outside the gates,” said Rajpal Hande, principal of Mithibai College.

Eighteen-year-old Aniket Gupta was one of the students who had attended the event on Thursday evening. “The show started at 8pm and within an hour, the performance ended abruptly. We later heard some commotions outside the venue gates and found out we could not leave the venue,” said Gupta who attended the concert with two friends. None of them was injured in yesterday’s incident. Hitesh Kamble, 20, a student of Sathaye College said there were volunteers who told people they could enter the ground even when it was full. “The tickets were free of cost, so many people had turned up and then they started pushing each other,” said Kamble, who suffered injuries on his face and was one of the eight admitted to Dr RN Cooper Hospital on Thursday night. The concert was called off mid-way because of the disruption.

While the college said there was no stampede, Principal Hande said that the situation got out of control when people tried to force their way in. “Those standing right by the gate got caught in the chaos started by others standing outside the gate. Our security personnel and students from the institute went to rescue them,” said Hande.

“What happened at Mithibai College’s Colosseum Fest yesterday was extremely unfortunate. The moment my team and I learnt of the situation unfolding outside, we got off stage and let the college authorities and the police bring the situation under control. I wish everyone who was injured a speedy recovery,” said Fernandes.