Amaravati: Three women were killed and several others were injured on Sunday near here when people rushed to receive gifts leading to a stampede at a Telugu Desam Party programme following a public meeting, the government said.
The incident comes just three days after the death of eight people during a similar event in Nellore in southern Andhra Pradesh.
Health Minister V Rajini said a woman died on the spot while two others succumbed to injuries while being shifted to a hospital.
A police official said that as soon as the organisers started distributing gifts, including sarees, the crowd swelled and they pushed the barricades away leading to a stampede. The gift distribution began after TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu left the venue upon addressing the public meeting at Guntur, about 33 km from here.
Expressing shock over the incident, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the government would stand by the families of the victims. In a statement, he ordered swift medical treatment to the injured.
The government announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those injured in the stampede, according to a CMO press release.
Health Minister V Rajini alleged that the TDP campaigned for the past 10 days to woo people, assuring distribution of gifts.
“Three lives have been sacrificed for Naidu’s publicity mania,” she told reporters at the hospital where the injured are being treated in Guntur.
Though this was a private programme, the state government has provided enough security.
“Chandrababu Naidu should own up the responsibility for the deaths,” Rajini said.
A woman who has been admitted to hospital told reporters that they were given a token-like slip earlier in the day and they went to the venue of TDP’s meeting to collect gifts. Suddenly there was lot of rush and in the melee, people fell on the ground leading to deaths.

Press Trust of India