A tazia, reportedly 170 feet tall, collapsed during a Muharram procession in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district on Sunday.
The incident occurred while the tazia, a miniature replica of Imam Hussain’s tomb, was being assembled and lifted. It lost balance and fell onto an 11,000-volt power line, sparking panic among the hundreds gathered for the religious procession.
The incident was caught on camera. The video shows the tazia suddenly tilting before eventually falling.
Tazias are generally made of bamboo, colourful paper, and fabric.
Muharram: 4 injured in clash over electric wire during Tazia procession in UP’s Ballia
Four people were injured when they were allegedly attacked by some individuals over the cutting of an electric wire during a tazia procession in a village in Ballia.
According to police, the incident occurred on Sunday night when the victims were returning from Karbala after the tazia procession. They were stopped and attacked with sticks and rods by members of another community.
The injured have been identified as Mohammad Intazar, Naushad Ansari, Arsh Mohammad and Tipu Ansari. Among them, Naushad and Tipu sustained serious injuries and were referred to a hospital in Varanasi, police said.
Bairia Circle Officer Mohammad Faheem Qureshi said a complaint was received from Mohammad Khurshid, who alleged that during the tazia procession, the victims had cut an electric wire belonging to Manish Yadav. This triggered the attack while they were returning from Karbala.
The officer said that an FIR has been registered against Sadhu Yadav, Vishal Yadav, and Manish Yadav under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita based on the complaint.
UP Police cop suspended after overheight tazia catches fire in Bareilly
A sub-inspector was suspended for allegedly granting permission to a procession despite the Tazia being taller than the permissible height, police said on Monday.
According to police, the Tazia caught fire after coming in contact with a high-tension wire in Gausganj village on Sunday night, triggering panic among participants. No injuries were reported.
The procession was moving towards the Bareilly–Shahjahanpur road.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Anurag Arya suspended Sub-Inspector Ashok Kumar for allegedly granting permission for the procession despite the tazia exceeding the permissible height.