The entrance and exit of the venue was big enough for 10 or 20 people to move through at the same time “but thousands rushed when Baba’s car left, following his car on foot to get a closer look at him”, said Sankalp Gautam, 22, who was with his aunt Kusum Devi, who was injured in the melee and is in hospital.
Devi fell and was crushed under people as she tried to help one of her two sisters who was struggling to get up. The sister was injured and died in hospital, Gautam said.
Farmer Lakhan Singh’s house overlooks the venue and he said he was sitting on the terrace and watching the sea of people at the congregation.
“Baba talked about living well, caring for one another etc., and then started walking out and got into his car,” Singh said, adding that vehicles of attendees had caused a traffic jam on the highway.
“People wanted to get close to him, they rushed towards his car, and his supporters pushed them away,” he said, adding that many fell down a slope in a heap.
