Patna, April 1 A day after a stampede at a temple in the Nalanda district left eight people dead, the Bihar State Religious Trust Council (BSRTC) called on Wednesday for the immediate registration of all places of worship to prevent such tragedies from recurring.
BSRTC chief Ranbir Nandan, who visited the Sheetla Mata temple in Bihar Sharif, said that the temple was not registered with the council and several shortcomings were observed in its functioning.
At least eight devotees, mostly women, were killed and eight were injured in a stampede at the Sheetla Mata temple on Tuesday morning.
Senior officials of the state government and district administration visited the site soon after the incident.
DGP Vinay Kumar also visited the temple on Tuesday.
The district police suspended the Station House Officer (SHO) of the Deep Nagar police station with immediate effect for dereliction of duty and ordered an inquiry to determine the exact cause of the incident.
The Nalanda police have arrested four persons in connection with the incident and also registered a case against 20 named individuals and several unidentified individuals.
"We request all public temples/mutts, trusts, and Dharamshalas in Bihar to register themselves with the BSRTC," Nandan said.
"Registration is mandatory to protect the properties, including land, of these registered/unregistered temples from unauthorized claims, as large-scale irregularities have been found where priests of such temples/mutts have been selling and buying immovable assets by becoming owners," he claimed.
Talking to