Thousands killed in Maha Kumbh stampede, Bodies disposed of in Ganga: SP MP Ram Gopal Yadav

New Delhi, February 3: Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Ram Gopal Yadav has made explosive claims regarding the Maha Kumbh stampede, suggesting that the actual death toll is much higher than the officially reported 30. Speaking to the media on Monday, Yadav alleged that thousands of people lost their lives during the Amrit Snan on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya and accused the Yogi Adityanath government of deliberately downplaying the severity of the incident.

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Yadav claimed that many of the deceased were buried along the riverbanks or thrown into the Ganga to conceal the true scale of the tragedy. He cited eyewitness accounts, asserting that the number of victims far exceeds the official count. "Thousands died during the Maha Kumbh. Some bodies were thrown into the Ganga, while others were buried on the banks," Yadav stated, contradicting the reported figure of 30 deaths.

The SP leader also alleged that the state government, under the direction of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, ordered officials to keep the death toll below 30. He described this as a cruel effort to hide the full extent of the disaster, forcing families to collect the bodies of their loved ones without conducting post-mortems to avoid adding to the official death toll. According to Yadav, families were offered financial compensation of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 to remove the bodies quietly.

Further criticizing the handling of the situation, Yadav blamed "gross administrative negligence" for the stampede. He accused the state of restricting access to the bridges during the Mauni Amavasya snan, allowing only Akharas and VIPs to pass, which he said contributed to the deadly stampede.