Stampede in Gandhi Maidan Patna: A Medico-legal Analysis

Abstract

A stampede is a disastrous event in which a crowd of people collectively begins running with no  clear direction causing large number of casualties. This usually occurs during religious pilgrimages,  professional sporting or in times of panic, as in fire or explosion when large number of people try to get  away from a close space like theatre, fair etc. On 3rd October 2014, during Dussahera celebration at  Gandhi Maidan Patna, when people were returning back after watching the ―Ravan Vadh‖ on the rumor of  fall of live electric wire in the ground, crowd started running to get away and some of them were fallen and  crushed by the unruly mob leading to heavy casualty. In this accident 33 deaths occur and most of them (81.82%) were females and of younger age  group. Multiple blunt force injuries especially on chest and abdomen were seen in most of the cases.  Cause of death was Traumatic Asphyxia (54.55%) and Shock and hemorrhage (39.39%) in most of the  cases. The cases of head injury were few, seen in only in 6.06% cases.