Kumbh Stampede Victims’ Bodies Thrown In River”: Jaya Bachchan Sparks Row

New Delhi:

Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan on Monday stoked controversy through her remarks that the Ganga water in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, where thousands of people are taking a dip during the ongoing Maha Kumbh, is allegedly highly contaminated as bodies of those killed in the recent stampede were dumped in the river. 

Ms Bachchan, a Rajya Sabha MP, dismissed the Yogi Adityanath government’s claims that crores of people have participated in the Maha Kumbh, one of the largest religious gatherings in the world. She also demanded that the government provide actual figures on the deaths that took place during the stampede. 

A sacred event for Hindus, the Maha Kumbh began on January 13 and will conclude on February 26. On January 29, at least 30 people were killed when a huge crowd broke barricades and jostled for space to take a holy dip at the Sangam – the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati – during “Amrit Snan” on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya.