Devotees throng Mathura temples on Radha Ashtami, Two elderly devotees die

Lakhs of devotees from across the country thronged the temples in Mathura and Vrindavan on the occasion of Radha Ashtami on Saturday even as two elderly devotees, both aged above 60, died while paying obeisance at the overcrowded temples.

While some reports appearing on social media platforms claimed that the devotees died from suffocation owing to the crowd pressure, the district administration said that the two devotees had medical histories and died after their illness aggravated.

A senior official said in Mathura that the reports of deaths of two devotees owing to stampede were factually incorrect.

According to the police sources, one of the deceased was identified as 60-year old Rajmani, a resident of Prayagraj, who had arrived at Mathura to have ‘darshan’ of Radha Rani. The other deceased, who was 70, was yet to be identified.

Reports said that the devotees had started arriving at Mathura temples since midnight on Saturday and almost all the famous temples, especially the Radha Rani Temple and some others, were filled with the devotees at break of dawn.

The administration has made extensive security arrangements to ensure that the devotees do not face any problems. Restrictions have been placed on the movement of vehicular traffic in several parts of the town. 

Buses carrying the devotees were stopped several kilometres away from the town and the devotees had walk a long way to reach the temples. Long queues of devotees were seen outside the temples in the religious towns of Mathura and Vrindavan.

The entire town reverberated with the sound of bells, chanting of mantras and bhajans. Some devotees were heard complaining that they had to walk several kilometres to reach the temples.