The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Wednesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) filed to order a CBI inquiry into the stampede that took place before the issuance of tickets for the Vaikuntha Ekadashi darshanam in Tirupati. The government lawyer informed the court that the AP government has already ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident.
In this context, the government has taken appropriate steps. The High Court clarified that there is no need for another inquiry. In this context, the PIL filed to conduct a CBI inquiry was dismissed. Another PIL filed on the same issue was also dismissed by the High Court.
Prabhakar Reddy from Kurnool had previously filed a PIL in the AP High Court demanding a CBI inquiry into the stampede for tickets. January 10, 2025 is Mukkoti Ekadashi. In this context, the TTD has decided to provide darshan of Srivari Vaikunta Dwara to devotees for 10 days in Tirumala.
In that order, TTD announced that tokens will be issued from the early hours of January 9th. For this, 94 token issuance centers have been set up in eight areas of Tirupati. For this, devotees from different parts of the country, including infants, have arrived in Tirupati in large numbers.
However, one of the staff members at the center set up at Bairagipatteda in Tirupati fell seriously ill. Due to this, the queue line gate was opened to take him to the hospital. The stampede occurred when devotees who thought that the queue lines had been opened to issue tokens suddenly rushed to the spot. Six people died in this stampede. Many were seriously injured.
This incident created a sensation across the country. The TTD chairman also apologized for this incident. Ex-gratia was also announced for the deceased. Compensation was also provided to the injured. The government also ordered them to provide better services.
In this context, two people approached the AP High Court seeking a CBI investigation into the stampede incident. The AP government has already ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident. The High Court has held that a CBI investigation into the incident is not necessary and dismissed this PIL.
