At least nine people have been killed in a stampede that occurred during prayers at the Sheetla Mata Temple in Maghada village, Nalanda district, Bihar, on Tuesday (March 31, 2026). Most of the victims were women. Six of the deceased have been identified, while police are working to confirm the identities of the remaining three, confirmed Nalanda District Magistrate Kundan Kumar.
The Bihar government has announced an ex gratia of ₹6 lakh to the families of the victims. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh from the PM Relief Fund for the deceased and ₹50,000 for those injured.
Preliminary reports indicate the stampede occurred due to a heavy rush of devotees at the temple on Tuesday morning. Locals alleged inadequate security arrangements to manage the crowd. The temple is a popular site, attracting devotees from Nalanda and neighbouring districts every Tuesday. The district administration has temporarily closed the temple to control the situation.
Bihar Chief Secretary has been instructed to initiate a probe and submit a report. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary expressed condolences and assured all possible assistance to the victims.
Nalanda Superintendent of Police Bharat Soni confirmed that Deep Nagar Station House Officer (SHO) Rajmani has been suspended over the incident. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the stampede.
The incident coincided with the visit of President Droupadi Murmu to Bihar. Most of the police force had been deployed for her security arrangements in Rajgir, where she attended the second convocation of Nalanda University as the chief guest and inaugurated the university's 2,000-seat auditorium.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the stampede incident at the temple in Bihar's Nalanda on Tuesday (March 31, 2026).
He also announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh to the families of the deceased and ₹50,000 to those injured from the PM Relief Fund.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, expressing condolences, demanded the State government to initiate a high-level probe into the stampede at the Sheetla Mata temple in Nalanda which claimed eight lives on Tuesday (March 31, 2026).
The Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly also said the government should make arrangements to take care of all those injured in the incident.
