Bedlam prevailed for some time on Monday at a public meeting — organised to welcome former Congress MLA Jalagam Venkata Rao to the YSRC — in Kham-mam on Monday.
The chaos was caused due to the death of a 70-year-old due to heart aliment at a nearby locality.
Jala Satyam, a resident of B.K. Bazaar in the city, collapsed while walking tow-ards Rythu Bazaar from Bhaktharamadasu Kalaks-hetram. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
The news of his death, coupled with the crowds jostling to catch a glimpse of YSRC leader Y.S. Vijayalakshmi gave rise to rumours of a stampede.
When Ms Vijayalakshmi reached the venue, a large number of persons tried to enter the grounds through a narrow gate. In the melee, some of them fell and sustained slight injuries.
The situation soon returned to normal and Mr Venkata Rao was formally welcomed into the YSRC fold by Ms Vijayalakshmi.