An elderly woman was killed and seven others, including a child, were injured in a stampede-like situation at a religious procession on Tuesday (February 10, 2026) in Dabra town of Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior district, police officers said.
According to the police, the incident took place around 10:45 a.m. at Dabra stadium where a large crowd of women, donning yellow and red sarees, had gathered for the first day of the 10-day-long procession of the Navgrah Temple, which is scheduled to be inaugurated at the end of the procession. The deceased has been identified as Rati Sahu, 70.
Deputy Inspector General of Police, Gwalior Range, Amit Sanghi told The Hindu that of the seven injured, six are out of danger, while a woman who received serious injuries is currently under observation in Gwalior. He said that about 7,000 women gathered for the Kalash (sacred pots) distribution at the stadium. The Kalash was to be taken to the temple in a yatra.
“Many women also gathered outside a gate which was not supposed to be used for entry. But when that gate was opened suddenly, some women fell due to pushing and one elderly woman who was at the front was seriously injured,” he said. Ms. Sahu later passed away at a hospital.
The minor girl (3) had a broken rib but her condition is better now, the DIG said.
Mr. Sanghi said that there were adequate security arrangements in place for the procession.
“The incident took place due to the sudden opening of the gate and there was a platform at the gate and women may have fallen because of that. The situation is under control now,” he said.
The large temple has been built by a trust of former Madhya Pradesh Home Minister and senior BJP leader Narottam Mishra and the inauguration procession will go on till February 20. Various senior politicians and religious preachers like Pradeep Mishra, Kumar Vishwas and Dhirendra Shastri, and over a lakh devotees are expected to attend the procession on different days.
Mr. Sanghi said that more than 1,500 personnel are going to be deployed for the procession each day.
“Senior officials and I visited the spot today (Tuesday) and issued instructions for improvements in the arrangements to prevent any such situation,” he added.
Gwalior IG Arvind Saxena told The Hindu that the heavy deployment was scheduled from February 11 only for the events by religious preachers, while Kalash distribution was supposed to be a smaller event.
“We had more than 70 personnel and various senior officers, including two Additional SPs. The incident occurred as the devotees turned up with great excitement across the venue,” he said.
