Days after the stampede, a fire broke out at the laddu distribution counter at Venkateshwara Temple in Tirupati. Soon after the fire, the entire compound was filled with smoke. Visuals from the site indicate that the fire may have erupted due to a short circuit.
On Wednesday, six people died while several others were injured in a stampede at the darshan ticket counter on the temple premises. Six devotees died and nearly 40 more were injured in the stampede at Bairagi Patteda near MGM School in Tirupati on Wednesday night as hundreds of them jostled for tickets for Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam at Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple. Hundreds of devotees turned up from across the country for the 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam commencing from January 10. Earlier, Naidu visited the hospital where the injured are being treated.
A day later on Thursday, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu met the Tirupati stampede incident victims and said he would order a judicial inquiry into the stampede incident that left six people dead and dozens injured, besides transferring three senior officials including the district Superintendent of Police.
