UP government exposed: BBC investigation- Not 37, but 82 people died in Maha Kumbh stampede
#News Bureau June 10,2025
BBC’s investigation has revealed the truth of the stampede in Maha Kumbh. The UP government had claimed that 37 people had died. But BBC has confirmed 82 deaths. Not all people even received compensation.
On 29 January 2025, on the day of Mauni Amavasya, during the Prayagraj Maha Kumbh Mela, many people lost their lives in a stampede at Sangam. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath put the death toll in the assembly at 37. But an in-depth BBC investigation revealed that at least 82 people died in the stampede. This difference has not only raised questions about the credibility of government claims, but also revealed how the Yogi government tried to hide the severity of the tragedy. The media also failed to report the Prayagraj Maha Kumbh accident correctly and honestly.
The Maha Kumbh Mela, which takes place every 12 years in Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik, is an important religious event for Hinduism. An estimated 40 crore people were expected to attend the fair at the Sangam in Prayagraj, which will run from 13 January to 26 February 2025. On January 29, on the day of Mauni Amavasya, which is considered the holiest day of this fair, about 10 crore people were claimed to have reached the Sangam banks.
This photo is taken from a BBC video. The photo is quite long and wide. Not all faces are visible in it.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had told the Assembly on February 19 that a stampede had occurred near Sangam Nose between 1:10 and 1:30 am on January 29. According to him, 66 people were caught in the stampede and 30 of them died, while 7 more people died in incidents at other places. In all, the government acknowledged 37 deaths and announced a compensation of Rs 25 lakh each to the families of the deceased. The Chief Minister also said in the Assembly that one of the deceased could not be identified and one was unclaimed, so compensation was not given in these two cases. The Chief Minister did not admit any kind of chaos. The reality is that the crowd moving towards Sangam after bathing crushed the devotees sleeping on the river bank. Eyewitnesses said that there was inadequate crowd management by the police and the organizers, which made the accident even more deadly.
The BBC team found in its investigation that stampedes had occurred at least in three different places on the day of Mauni Amavasya. In which a total of 82 people were confirmed dead. This information came to light on the basis of conversations with local hospitals, eyewitnesses and relatives of the deceased. For this, BBC reporter Abhinav Goyal and his team visited several states.
The BBC investigation also revealed that the administration manipulated official figures to underreport the death toll. For example, a journalist at the mortuary of Motilal Nehru Medical College counted 39 bodies, while three police sources also said that about 40 people had died. In addition, local Hindi newspapers also confirmed the presence of at least 20 bodies. Yet, the Uttar Pradesh government officially acknowledged only 37 deaths.
The BBC visited 11 states and more than 50 districts of the country and spoke to more than 100 families. Based on these meetings and documents, the BBC concluded that the actual number of people killed in the stampede is 82. All these figures are based only on those cases for which there is solid evidence. The BBC did not include suspicious cases in this list. Although from the beginning the local people were reporting the death toll to be more than 100. But the UP government never accepted such a number as correct.
Many eyewitnesses of this accident shared their experiences with the BBC and earlier with Reuters and Dainik Bhaskar. Kaikeyi Devi, who came to the Kumbh Mela with her husband from Bihar, told the BBC that her husband was crushed in the crowd in front of her. “He was dragged into the crowd, and we kept shouting… ‘Leave him! We are here!’ But he did not come back.” Similarly, Tapesh Roy from Assam lost his brother and expressed anger at the negligence of the administration. He said that there was a delay in taking the injured to the hospital, and the police asked them to wait instead of helping them.
Tarun Bose from West Bengal also lost a female relative in this accident. He complained about not getting immediate help from the administration. It is clear from these statements that the lack of crowd management and the absence of emergency services made this tragedy more serious. The BBC has included statements of many similar people in its video report.
The BBC report also revealed that the negligence of the police and the organizers was responsible for this accident. Many devotees said there was not enough space on the Sangam bank, and the police did not take proper steps to control the crowd. Some eyewitnesses said the police failed to stop devotees trying to cross the barricades, which worsened the situation.
Some highlights of the BBC report
*The government gave compensation of Rs 25 lakh each to 36 families through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) or cheque.
*26 families were also found who were given Rs 5 lakh each in cash, but were not included in the official list.
*In the cases of cash payments, the BBC found photo and video evidence in which policemen are seen distributing cash.
*Family members were made to sign papers stating that the death was due to “sudden deterioration of health”.
*There are 19 more families who did not receive any compensation.
*These families have evidence such as postmortem reports, death certificates and photographs of the dead bodies.
The compensation distributed to 37 people was government money. But the 26 people who were given Rs 5 lakh each, where did that money come from? Which state government, which police station, which government agency gave it. The government will have to answer where that money came from.
A big question…
Who will answer?
3 categories of 82 deaths
The BBC has divided these 82 deaths into three categories:
*Deceased people included in the government list, whose families received Rs 25 lakh.
*Families who received cash compensation confidentially, were given Rs 5 lakh in cash.
*Completely ignored families, who did not receive any compensation. Whose death is not recognized by the government.
Fair, claim and reality
The Uttar Pradesh government claimed that 66 crore people attended this year’s Maha Kumbh, and Rs 7000 crore was spent on this event. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said in the assembly, “The echo of the successful organization of Kumbh will be heard in the world for a long time.” But in this echo, the cries of 82 families were drowned somewhere. Those whose mothers, sisters, fathers, grandmothers – all lost their lives in this stampede, were either excluded from the government figures or were silenced by distributing cash.
The Uttar Pradesh government has not yet published any formal list of those killed in the Maha Kumbh stampede. Neither has the information been made public as to which families were given compensation and which were not. The BBC report shows how a democratic government is trying to cover up the deaths of its own citizens.
Send feedback.
If the death of devotees who had come to participate in a religious event like Maha Kumbh is hidden to avoid tarnishing the political image, then it is nothing less than a crime. This attitude of the government is not only against the principles of transparency, but it is also insulting to the families who lost their loved ones and are now fighting for the truth. Justice will be done in this case only when the state government makes the official list public, investigates the cash compensation and identifies the families who have not received any help till now and gives them proper compensation. You can watch the video of the full BBC report below.
It has been four hours since this BBC report came on Tuesday. But the central or UP government has not given any reaction to this report. If the government gives any reaction then this report will be updated again or you can read it separately.
