Thursday, March 04, 2010 LUCKNOW: A stampede broke out at a Hindu temple in northern India Thursday as thousands of people jostled with each other to get free clothes and utensils, leaving at least 63 people dead and dozens more injured, officials said. The force of the stampede was so great, it knocked down a gate at the temple compound in Kunda, a small town 110 miles (180kilometers) southeast of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state. About 44 worshippers were injured in the crush of people at a Hindu temple belonging to a popular local religious leader, said Ashok Kumar, a senior government official. Thousands of farmers and villagers had gathered at the temple around noon to receive free goods to mark the anniversary of the death of the wife of the religious leader, Kripalu Maharaj, said Brij Lal, a local police official. By late afternoon police had cleared the compound and started the process of identifying the bodies, Kumar said. Hundreds of people gathered at a nea...
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