Rajahmundry Stampede: Deaths not due to dehydration, says doctor

Rajahmundry, July 18: The Rajahmundry stampede incident has triggered a blame game among officials and politicians. The officials and politicians are making contradictory statements on the incident. While police claimed that 15 of the 27 victims died of dehydration, Rajahmundry Government Hospital superintendent Sulochana asserted that all the victims died due to trampling. Dr Sulochana said that they would not issue death certificate specifying cause of death as the victims were brought dead to the hospital. She said that autopsy observation revealed that deaths were caused due to trampling. It may be noted that police claimed that devotees died as drinking water was not available at the ghat. Six bodies were found lying away from the site added strength to their claims. But the District Collector said that water was provided to the devotees from day one.