The president and secretary of Indore’s Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple have been booked by the police after the floor of the temple caved in during a religious ceremony on the occasion of Ram Navami on Thursday killing 35 people and causing injuries to at least 14 others.

An India Today report quoting Indore Police Commissioner Makarand Deuskar said that an FIR under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), has been registered against president and secretary of the temple committee in the temple stepwell roof collapse tragedy case

The two temple officials have been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, as per the report.

Earlier today, official said that bodies of 35 victims have been have been recovered from the well so far in a joint rescue operation conducted by the Army, and the sleuths of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).

Speaking to newsmen at the site of the mishap, Indore District Magistrate Dr Ilayaraja T said a search operation is currently on to locate one person who is still reported missing.

The senior official said the operation, which started on Thursday after the tragedy happened, is nearing completion and a search is underway to trace a missing person.

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He said the dead bodies of all the people, barring one person, whose names were in the missing persons’ list, have been recovered and mounds of slit in the well are being removed to locate the missing person.

In an earlier statement, Indore Divisional Commissioner (Revenue) Pawan Kumar Sharma had said that 16 people injured in the collapse have been admitted to a hospital, while two others were sent home after receiving first aid.

Tragedy struck when on Thursday, the slab constructed on top of an ancient ‘bawdi’ or stepwell collapsed during a ‘havan’ programme held during Ram Navami celebrations at Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in Indore’s Patel Nagar.

The collapse caused several devotees to plunge into the water reservoir below as the temple was built on top of a 20 ft x 20 ft square-shaped stepwell nearly four decades ago.

A massive search and rescue operation was launched on late Thursday evening. Reports quoting eyewitnesses at the site said that a joint team of the Army and NDRF descended deep into the well with the help of a crane and trolley to recover the bodies.

Reports said that a massive crowd of devotees were present in the temple during the havan ceremony and the floor was unable to bear the load and caved in. They said that the temple had been built by coving the ancient stepwell with a slab.

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The post Indore Police books temple president, secretary after stepwell roof collapse that killed 35 appeared first on APN News.

In a major accident during Ram Navami celebrations, a temple stepwell roof collapsed at Indore’s Shree Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal Temple.

Reports said as many as 13 people have been killed in the temple collapse till now and 19 people have been rescued. The incident happened when an ancient bavdi collapsed during the Ram Navami festival. Rescue operations are underway and police along with the rescue team are putting their best efforts to save people.

In the viral videos, police and locals were seen trying to rescue the devotees trapped in the collapsed stepwell.

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Watch the video here:

According to reports, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took cognizance of the incident and directed local authorities to speed up the rescue operation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences to the family of the deceased people. On Twitter, PM Modi informed that he spoke to CM Shivraj Chouhan and took an update on the situation. The State Government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace.

Have a look at the tweet:

This is a developing story.

The post Indore temple collapse: 13 dead, 19 people rescued; PM Modi offers condolences appeared first on APN News.