Six Hindu pilgrims killed in Bangla stampede

At least six Hindu devotees, including a woman and a child, were killed and over 50 injured in a stampede at a festival marking the birth anniversary of a saint in southwestern Bangladesh on Wednesday, police said.

The stampede occurred as thousands of pilgrims gathered in Kasiani area of Gopalganj district, about 200 km southwest of the capital Dhaka, to take a holy dip in a pool there on the occasion of the birth anniversary of saint Hary Chand Thakur, police said.

Thousands of Hindus have been taking part in a week-long annual ritual marking the birth anniversary of the saint.

Hindus constitute about 10 per cent of Muslim-majority Bangladesh's 13 crore people.