Overview
- A crowd crush at the Ashok Dham (Indradamneshwar Mahadev) temple in Lakhisarai killed seven people and injured more than a dozen during the heavy Shravan Monday turnout on August 17, 2026.
- District officials say two local trains arriving around 6:30–6:45 a.m. swelled the queue, a nearby electric pole or wire fell and rumours of electrocution spread before a section of bamboo barricading collapsed under crowd pressure.
- Rescue teams and police moved the injured to Sadar Hospital in Lakhisarai and conducted on-site relief work while local residents and devotees helped pull people from the crush.
- Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary announced Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia for next of kin and the state has ordered a high-level inquiry to examine crowd management and any administrative lapses.
- The disaster highlights recurring gaps between national crowd-control guidance and on-the-ground planning at large pilgrim sites, and the probe’s findings could lead to changes in how rail halts, barricades and emergency medical arrangements are managed during Shravan.