Chaos at Shreya Ghoshal’s concert at Bali Jatra in Odisha; one injured

Cuttack, Nov 13 (PTI) A commotion broke out at Bollywood playback singer Shreya Ghoshal’s concert at the Bali Jatra ground in Odisha's Cuttack on Thursday evening, leaving one person injured, officials said.

District administration officials said that the situation turned chaotic when a large number of people surged towards the stage as Ghoshal appeared for her live performance. The programme was briefly halted but later resumed after the police brought the situation under control.

One person fell unconscious and was taken to a nearby hospital, amid the pushing and shoving. Thousands of fans had gathered to witness Ghoshal’s performance on the concluding day of the Bali Jatra festival.

However, Commissioner of Police S Dev Datta Singh told PTI: “There was no such unpleasant situation. It is true that there was a huge crowd, but we managed it properly. One person sustained a minor injury and is stable.” Senior police officers, including Singh—who was monitoring the event from the control room—reached the spot to assess the situation and restore normalcy. Using public address systems, the police appealed to attendees to remain calm and maintain order.

The incident occurred despite the deployment of 70 platoons—around 2,100 personnel—for law and order and crowd management at the Bali Jatra, one of the largest trade fairs in the country. PTI AAM NN