http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321342,stampede-kills-five-at-sect-headquarters-in-india.html
Stampede kills five at sect headquarters in India Posted : Fri, 30 Apr 2010 07:35:23 GMT By : dpa New Delhi - At least five women devotees were killed and several injured in a stampede at the headquarters of a religious sect in India's northern state of Haryana on Friday, news reports said. The stampede occurred at a function to mark the foundation day of the Dera Saccha Sauda (True Deal Sect) at its headquarters in the Sirsa district, 300 kilometres south-west of state capital Chandigarh, PTI news agency reported. District police officer Yudhvir Singh told PTI that preliminary reports indicated the stampede was triggered by rumours about the presence of a snake. The victims were all aged between 56 and 60, the report said. Singh said many others were hospitalized, without giving a figure. Police said since Thursday night over 100,000 sect devotees had gathered at the headquarters for the function. The Dera Saccha Sauda sect draws most of its followers from the Dalit, or low-caste, Sikhs. There are several such sects across Haryana and neighbouring Punjab state with many Dalit Sikh followers.
