Goat Sacrifice kills ten poeple at Indian festival

by John

An argument over sacrificing goats during a Hindu festival triggered a stampede that killed 10 people in a packed temple in northern India. More than 40,000 people, many inebriated, had taken their goats to the Tildiha village temple in Bihar state to offer sacrifice and prayers to the goddess Durga on the last day of the Navratri festival. As the worshippers lined up before the butcher, a scuffle broke out and some people were trampled. "People were vying with each other to get their goats sacrificed first, and they had a verbal duel with the butcher,". Four women and six men died in the stampede, and another 11 were injured, three of them critically, Banka district police director Neelmani said. The injured were being treated in hospitals. The district spokesman said some 30,000 goats were sacrificed at the temple on Saturday. The 10-day Navratri festival honours Durga, the mother goddess in the Hindu religion. The village in Banka district is about 200km southeast of Bihar's state capital, Patna