A stampede occurred at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir in which 12 pilgrims were killed and over a dozen others were injured. Jammu and Kashmir Director-General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh said the stampede was triggered by a heavy rush of devotees around 2.45 am outside the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine atop Trikuta hills.
Singh, while speaking to the news agency further informed that according to the initial reports, the stampede occurred after an argument broke out between two groups of people while discussing an issue.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha announced a total of Rs 12 lakh ex gratia to the next of kin of those who lost their lives in the stampede.
Sinha also mentioned that a high-level probe has been ordered into the stampede.
Union minister Jitendra Singh has also rushed to Katra to take stock of the situation. The pilgrimage to the shrine was also briefly stopped after the stampede but now it has resumed.
