Mahakumbh Stampede:  Two days after a pre-dawn stampede near the Sangam claimed 30 lives and left 60 injured, police announced on Friday that they would investigate reports of another incident that occurred the same day in the Jhusi area of the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, located nearly 2 km from the stampede site.

Vaibhav Krishna, DIG Kumbh, said, “Footage of the incident will be thoroughly examined, including recordings from cameras installed at the site.”

Reports of panic in the Jhusi area shortly after the stampede at the Sangam Nose, the strip of land at the meeting point of the Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati, prompted the police decision. Previous reports of a stampede-like event and fatalities in Jhusi had been refuted by police earlier.

DIG Krishna insisted that 30 persons died when questioned about the number of stampede casualties. According to him, a list of the deceased would probably be made public on Saturday. For the families of each individual killed in the stampede, the Uttar Pradesh government has promised an ex gratia payment of Rs 25 lakh.

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Following news of the rush at the Sangam Nose, locals and shopkeepers in the Jhusi region told The Indian Express that there was mayhem at the Sector 21 crossing on Wednesday.

Raju Nishad, 34, a snack vendor, said: “Around 6.30 am, on my way to my chana cart, I noticed a large crowd at the Sector 21 crossing. This was because there were people were coming in large numbers from both directions.”

Saurabh Mishra, a resident who claimed to have witnessed the mayhem, described how he heard mothers and children screaming.