Dusshera stampede probe report 'nonsense', Bihar government hiding facts: BJP leader Sushil Modi

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Saturday called the Dusshera stampede probe report 'nonsense' and alleged the state government was trying to "hide facts" about the incident in which 33 people were killed.

"The whole report is nonsense. The officials responsible for the stampede should have been identified and booked for murder. The state government just removed them to pacify the angry public at that time and reposted them after a few days," Modi told reporters. The inquiry report has blamed "collective failure" of civic and police authorities for the October 3 tragedy and said rumours and attempts of molestation led to the incident.

Modi alleged that then Patna District Magistrate Manish Verma, who was in office when the incident occurred, is going scot-free as he is "very close to former Chief Minister and senior JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar".

He demanded that the state government make public probe reports of the multi-crore medicine and medical equipment purchase scam and cleaning of a temple in Madhubani district after Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's visit, before the beginning of Assembly session on December 19.