Chaos rocks Juhu college festival, 8 youths land in hospital

MUMBAI: Eight youths were admitted to hospital—three of them to intensive care—during a college festival in Vile Parle on Thursday evening. A girl who has a heart ailment began to suffocate due to the claustrophobic ambience that prevailed in the auditorium, said a police officer.
Mithibai College was hosting the 17th edition of ‘Colosseum’, the annual festival of its Bachelor of Management Studies faculty, at Jashoda Rang Mandir, the auditorium located beside the college.The affected students were taken to the civic-run Cooper Hospital next door.
A performance by rapper Rapper Vivian Fernandes, known as ‘Divine’ of the Gully Gang rappers troupe, was performing at the event. Senior inspector Pandharinath Wavhal of Juhu police station said that some youths scaled walls to enter the venue on learning of the performance.
A spokesperson from the festival’s organising committee said that some “outside people” tried to gatecrash at the venue. “Since they were not allowed to enter, they turned unruly,” said a spokesperson.
According to the civic body’s disaster management officials, a celebrity visiting the festival had drawn huge crowds, causing a gate to crash and left students injured. The police, on their part, said that an intitial probe had shown that too many people were cramped into the room, leading to suffocation and making some students faint.
Principal of Mithibai College, Rajpal Hande, said that outsiders tried to enter through the gate to attend the event. “They forced open the gate, causing a few of them to fall... We called off the event midway after the incident,” said Hande, adding that none of the college students were hurt. “It is an open air ground, so no question of suffocation. There was no stampede.” TNN