'At least 80-90 dead bodies, inhumane cover-up': Mahakumbh stampede survivor recounts horror

The tragic stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, India, has officially claimed the lives of at least 30 people, with over 60 others injured. However, as doubts rise about the accuracy of the reported numbers and the management of the event, an anonymous survivor's account, shared on Reddit out of fear of harassment, paints a much grimmer picture ¡ª suggesting a significantly higher death toll and revealing alarming negligence by the authorities.

Update from the recent stampede at Mahakumbh Prayagraj!
byu/Crounts inindia

'Ground reality is alarmingly different'

The Reddit user shared a chilling account of the stampede's true scale, relayed by his brother, who was just metres away from the site of the disaster.

The stampede unfolded as Hindu devotees, waiting to take a spiritual bath in the river, rushed past barricades meant for a procession of holy men.

The user revealed the stark contrast between his brother's firsthand account and the official statements from the media and government, stating, "The ground reality of what he told me vs what the media and govt. is claiming is alarmingly different."

#WATCH | #Mahakumbh | Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh: On the reports of a stampede at the Maha Kumbh, Special Executive Officer Akanksha Rana says, "On the Sangam routes, a stampede-like situation arose after some barriers broke. Some people have been injured. They are under treatment.¡­ pic.twitter.com/SgLRVXMlgf

¡ª ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2025

The user further confirmed that his brother had seen at least 80-90 bodies in the mortuary well before the government's official toll of 30 fatalities was released.

"There were not one but three-four different mortuaries where bodies have been kept and diluted to diversify the figure from media and people," he revealed, exposing the efforts to downplay the scale of the tragedy.

Among the victims, the loss of a six-month-old girl stood out as particularly heart-wrenching. "There was an actual 6-month-old girl who died getting crushed in the stampede and her body was thrown and dumped in the ambulance in a polythene bag tied with a knot," the user recounted.

He described the situation as "such inhumane was the not so 'rescue' and more of a 'cover up ops," reflecting the neglect and disregard for human life that prevailed.

Witnesses were silenced

Witnesses to the event who attempted to capture the chaos on their phones were silenced by the authorities.

"Some people tried to record the video from meters away but the police abused, manhandled, and snatched their phones so that the matter doesn't come out in the public domain," the user shared, hinting at the effort to suppress any evidence of the truth.

'Not one, but at least 4-5 major stampedes happened'

The stampede was not an isolated incident, as the user revealed multiple occurrences. "Not one but at least 4-5 major stampedes happened, while many minor uncounted ones," he claimed, underscoring the scale of the disaster that was hidden from the public eye.

'Crores of money spent did not do justice to this year's event'

The administration's response to the tragedy was woefully slow, with many feeling that more could have been done.

"This is shameful that the government and administration took accountability after freaking 17 hours of the first major stampede," the user said, his voice filled with frustration.

They further lamented, "The management could have been strengthened if the administration had not been so ignorant."

Pointing out the stark contrast between the amount of money and effort poured into the event and the lack of proper planning, they said, "Any sane person would be able to feel evidently that the sheer amount of thousands of crores of money, investment, political and influencers' hype, god-level PR and marketing did not give justice to this year's event."

'VVIPs and VIPs gave wrong message to general public'

The user also criticised the focus on the sacred Sangam area, which he believed contributed to the dangerous situation.

"The vulnerable Sangam area is very small and it would be impossible if such crowd comes and is adamant to have a dip there only," he explained.

"This life-threatening mockery could have been avoided but nope all VVIPs and VIP ministers had a dip at Sangam only, giving the wrong message to the general public," he added, expressing dismay over the prioritisation of political figures over public safety.

The Reddit user's account sheds light on the scale of the tragedy and the systemic failures that led to it, urging others to question the official narrative and the true cost of this sacred event.

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