Kasibugga, 2 Nov

Claiming he was not responsible for the tragic stampede at Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple here that left nine devotees dead, the 94-year-old founder of the temple has said devotees rushed on their own during the gathering.

He further said he had not informed the police as he thought everything would be normal like any other day and did not expect such a big crowd on Saturday.

Nine people - eight women and a boy - were killed and many others injured in the stampede at the temple constructed by Panda on his own land, here in Srikakulam District, on Saturday.

The tragedy was worsened by the Ekadasi observance coinciding with 'Karthika Masam', drawing large crowds.

"What should I do if so many people come at once? I usually send everyone in line but yesterday there were so many people. I don't know what happened, I did not inform any police," temple priest Mukunda Panda told PTI videos.

"I did not inform the police. I have courage, I told everyone to go in a queue line. People came for darshan — what can I do if they rushed and the situation turned like this?” Mukunda Panda asked while speaking to the media.

He further said he was there until 3 pm without having lunch even as police came and controlled the crowd.

The temple, owned by priest Mukunda Panda, was neither converted for non-agricultural use nor registered with the Endowments Department, and the organisers failed to inform local police before conducting the event, Srikakulam district superintendent of police, KV Maheshwara Reddy told PTI.

The SP said the temple organisers neither sought mandatory permissions nor applied for police protection before conducting the event.

According to the SP, the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple is a private establishment and was operating without proper approvals. The organisers reportedly failed to comply with safety protocols. Meanwhile, police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).