Devotees fall in Homam; 12 suffer burns

Gurajala (Guntur): A few moments before ending their 40-day-long Sivamala `deeksha' on the midnight of Sivaratri, as many as 12 devotees suffered serious burns when they fell in a raging pit of fire (Homa Gundam) in the stampede on the premises of Sarangadheeswara temple at Sarangapalli Agraharam village in Guntur district on Monday. A group of 60 devotees, observing the `deeksha' of Sivamala, were moving around the pit of fire. It was Guruswami Sambasiva Rao carrying the portrait of Goddess Kalika fell in the pit when some devotees pushed him in an apparent bid to find their place in the queue. 14 devotees who were following him also lost control and slipped into the fire. The other victims were identified as Chandraiah, Srinivasa Rao, Koteswara Rao, Venkateswarlu, Anjaneyulu, Saidulu, Naresh, Hanumanta Rao, Srinu, Baji, Narasimha Rao and Nagaraju. Two of the victims sustained minor burns. SI Ramesh Babu rushed to the spot along with 108 ambulances.