8 students injured in stampede during Mithibai College’s annual festival
Many outsiders tried to gatecrash the event to watch rapper Divine perform live, resulting in commotion and a stampede like situation (Stage set for Divine’s performance, Courtesy: Subhash M)
At least eight students were injured and rushed to a hospital following a stampede-like situation during a performance at Mithibai College in Vile Parle on Thursday.
According to one of the students present at the spot, the college had booked rapper Vivian Divine to perform at the Colosseum Festival, its annual festival.
As news of his arrival spread, many people from nearby slums tried to enter the premises to catch the live performance.
“Several people from nearby slums gatecrashed the college during the performance, forcing security personnel to shut the entry gates. The closure restricted movement, sparking panic and chaos, and resulting in a stampede,” he told Local Press Co.
Around 12-15 students were injured and subsequently rushed to RN Cooper Hospital following the incident.
While cops attested to the situation, their version of events was slightly different. An official from Juhu police station alleged that the college had oversold the event’s passes, which resulted in overcrowding and commotion.
The college could house around 4,000 students, but roughly twice as many passes were sold, some reports suggest.
Meanwhile, doctors at Cooper Hospital said four out of the eight students admitted to the hospital took discharge the same day against medical advice. They were identified as Shadab Sheikh (24), Purtha Vetoskar (19), Max D’Souza (18) and Kalyani Agrawal (18).
Three others who suffered injuries during the incident – David Bangera (20), Nikhil Pawar (17) and Hitesh Kamble (18) – were being treated at the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU). Kunal Chavan (17), meanwhile, was taken to the general ward.
All students are currently out of danger.
