JAIPUR: When a stampede broke out at the Maha Kumbh earlier this week, Vishambar Singh from Rajasthan's Dholpur held onto his mother's hand with all his strength and managed to pull her to safety, but he could not save his grandfather, who was trampled by the crowd. Two days after the incident, Singh's family remains in shock.
Recalling the horrifying incident, Singh said, "People started pushing and running in all directions. My grandfather and mother fell, but somehow I managed to pull my mother out of the crowd. My grandfather, however, got trampled under people's feet with many people falling on him."
Singh's grandfather, Kishan Baldev (71), was a farmer and had gone to the Maha Kumbh with his family and others on January 28. After taking a dip in the Sangam that evening, they stayed by the riverbank, preparing for another holy dip the next day.
However, around 2 AM, there was a sudden surge in the number of devotees and people started running in different directions to escape the rush.
Singh said by the time he tried pulling his grandfather out, he was unconscious. The family took him to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.
Baldev's daughter-in-law Ramvati is in disbelief.
"We had come to seek blessings, but we lost the head of our family," she said, holding back tears.
The family received Baldev's body on Thursday evening after post-mortem, and his last rites were performed on Friday.
A woman from Kekri village in Ajmer district was also among those killed in the stampede. Her body was brought home in an ambulance by Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday. She had travelled to Maha Kumbh with a group of devotees.
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