The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered a judicial probe into the deaths of at least 30 people in stampedes at India’s Kumbh Mela festival, where millions of Hindu devotees gathered for a ritual bath at the confluence of three sacred rivers.

The event is deeply rooted in Hindu mythology and centres on the belief in the purifying power of sacred rivers. Pilgrims bathe in these rivers, believing the ritual cleanses their sins and brings them closer to spiritual liberation.