One person was killed and eight others got severely injured after an ox went for a rampage at a Durga idol immersion carnival at Raiganj in North Dinajpur district of West Bengal, late evening on Friday.
The dead person has been identified as Sadhan Karmakar. He was admitted to Raiganj Medical College & Hospital in critical condition where he soon died. The eight other injured persons are currently undergoing treatment at the same hospital, though they have been reported out of crisis.
One community Puja committee, Anushilon Club, which participated in the immersion carnival arranged carrying of the idols on ox-drawn carriages. According to eye-witnesses, the problem started when one of the oxen suddenly got wild. It freed itself from the carriage and started attacking people assembled there. In the process, several persons were injured and one person was killed.
The Goddess Durga idol placed in the carriage was damaged severely. Eye witnesses said that the entire incident took place for less than a minute before the ox ran away from the scene after the rampage.
Local Trinamool Congress MLA and the West Bengal Cabinet Minister of State Minority Affairs & Madrassah Education Department, Md Ghulam Rabbani was present in the occasion.Meanwhile, several citizens of Raiganj have slammed the district administration for the mishap and they have claimed that authorities should not have allowed the community Puja committee concerned to use ox-drawn carriages.
"As a citizen I feel ashamed of what happened at Raiganj as the administration allowed such an act by a community puja committee that ultimately led to loss of life. The administration seemed to have learnt no lesson of the flash flood massacre at Jalpaiguri,' said Sharmishtha Ghosh.
On Wednesday night, a flash flood in Mal River at Malbazar in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal killed eight persons and left several missing while thousands assembled at the river bank for idol immersion on the occasion of Vijaya Dashami.