Tirupati/Delhi, 9 January (H.S.): The Andhra Pradesh government has announced compensation of Rs 25 lakh each to the families of six devotees who died in a stampede during ticket distribution at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple.

The announcement was made after a ministerial team called on the families of the deceased at Ruia Hospital and the injured at SVIMS Hospital. The ministers deemed the incident unfortunate and said investigations were ongoing to determine if it was a result of hasty action or lack of coordination.

Home Minister Anita said the probe was also looking into whether it was an accident or a conspiracy. CCTV footage will reveal whose lapses led to the tragedy. The home minister said stringent action would be taken against those found negligent and steps will be taken to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future.

The bodies of the victims were being sent to their respective towns after an autopsy. The stampede occurred near the Vishnu Nivasam temple in Tirupati, where the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) had set up counters to distribute tokens for the Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam during the annual Vaikunta Ekadashi festival.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar