At least seven people were killed and more than a dozen injured on August 17, 2026, in a stampede outside the Ashok Dham Temple in Bihar's Lakhisarai district. Devotees had gathered on the third Monday of the holy month of Shravan to offer water to Lord Shiva when panic erupted after an electric pole reportedly fell, electrocuting members of the crowd, senior police officer Shivam Kumar said.
Lakhisarai District Magistrate Shailendra Kumar said a barricade collapsed under an unprecedented surge of pilgrims, intensified by the arrival of two trains around 6:30 a.m. At least five people were also injured, a senior official told Reuters.
Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary expressed condolences and ordered swift treatment for the injured. The incident follows a stampede at a temple in Bihar's Nalanda district in March that killed nine people.