New Delhi:

The district official – a sub divisional magistrate – who permitted ‘godman’ Bhole Baba’s ‘prayer meet’ in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, at which a stampede killed 121 people – never inspected the venue, a team investigating the tragedy said in a report submitted to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The SIT report also said the event organisers and local administration, including the police, were negligent and held them responsible, stating they “failed to make adequate arrangements” for so large a crowd. Neither local officials nor the cops took the event “seriously”, the report said.

That the organisers – who have been held “primarily responsible” involved, or hired, individuals without police verification has been held up as an example of that negligence.

And, in a lapse of protocol, local police did not inform, as soon as they should have, their seniors of the stampede and the deaths, the report said. The probe team also echoed the Chief Minister in suggesting a “conspiracy” behind the tragedy, and has recommended a more detailed investigation.

The report is based on statements from 125 people – from eyewitnesses and survivors to police and district officials. In addition, news reports and photographs and video footage were also examined.

New Delhi:

Days after 121 people were killed due to a stampede at a religious gathering in Hathras, advocate AP Singh has claimed that the incident that took the lives of 121 people, mostly women and children occurred because unidentified men sprayed poison during the event.

Singh claimed that the group of conspirators fled the venue after causing the stampede.

“Unidentified men were carrying poisonous sprays…They ran while spraying the poisonous spray and it looked as a part of a pre-planned conspiracy…Many people lost their consciousness…I urge the Special Investigation Team to investigate who all are behind this incident,” Advocate AP Singh told ANI on Saturday.

At least 121 devotees lost their lives in a stampede at a religious ‘Satsang’ event of self-styled godman Suraj Pal, alias ‘Bhole Baba’, in Fulari village, Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, on July 2.

Meanwhile, Devprakash Madhukar, the main accused in the Hathras stampede incident, was sent to 14 days of judicial custody after being produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Saturday. The court inquired if he had written permission for the event and from whom it was obtained. Madhukar replied that he received permission from the SDM for a gathering of 80,000 people. When asked if the event was publicised, Madhukar denied doing so.

Notably, Devprakash Madhukar had been absconding, and a reward of Rs 1 lakh was announced for information leading to his arrest. He was finally apprehended on July 5 in the national capital. Additionally, two other accused, Ramprakash Shakya and Sanju Yadav, were also arrested, according to the police.

Earlier on Saturday, self-styled godman Suraj Pal Singh or “Bhole Baba,” broke his silence in connection with the Hathras stampede in which 121 people, mostly women and children, died, stating that “those who created the chaos will not be spared.”

In a video statement, Suraj Pal, who also goes by the name of Narayan Sakar Hari expressed his grief and condoled the deaths at the tragedy that took place earlier this week during a ‘Satsang’ in Fulari village in Hathras district.

“I am deeply saddened by the incident of July 2. May God give us the strength to bear this pain. Please keep faith in the government and the administration. I have faith that those who created the chaos will not be spared. Through my lawyer AP Singh, I have requested the members of the committee to stand with the bereaved families and the injured and help them throughout their lives,” the ‘Baba’ said.

The stampede occurred during the ‘Satsang’ of self-styled godman Suraj Pal Singh, known as ‘Bhole Baba’, in Fulari village, Hathras.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi left for Hathras. He will be meeting the families affected by the stampede, that claimed the lives of 123 people.

The stampede took place on Tuesday evening at a satsang of religious preacher Narayan Saakar Hari, also known as ‘Bhole Baba’.

Uttar Pradesh Police conducted a search operation at Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri on Thursday for ‘Bhole Baba’, a self-styled godman who conducted a satsang in Hathras.

An FIR has been registered on the incident naming organisers of the prayer meeting but ‘Bhole Baba’ has not been named yet.

#WATCH | Delhi: Leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi leaves for stampede-affected Hathras.

He will be meeting the families affected due to the stampede, that claimed the lives of 121. pic.twitter.com/rqJ4u5HQeS

— ANI (@ANI) July 5, 2024

Earlier on July 4, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mainpuri Sunil Kumar said, “Baba has not been found inside the ashram.”

“There are 40-50 sevadars inside the ashram. He (‘Bhole Baba’) is not inside, neither he was yesterday nor he is today…” said DSP Mainpuri Sunil Kumar.SP City Rahul Mithas said, “I had come to check the security of the ashram. Nobody was found here.”

On Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited the spot and ordered a judicial probe into the incident.

A three-member Judicial Inquiry Commission under the chairmanship of Justice (retd) Brijesh Kumar Srivastava has been constituted to ensure comprehensiveness of the subject matter and transparency in the inquiry, according to an official statement.

The Judicial Commission will investigate the various aspects of the Hathras stampede in the next two months and after the investigation, a report will be submitted to the State Government.

The preacher ‘Bhole Baba’ identified as Suraj Pal is also known by the names of Narayan Sakar Hari and Jagat Guru Vishwahari.

As per the prima facie report, the devotees rushed to seek blessings and collect soil from around the preacher’s feet, but were stopped by the security personnel of ‘Bhole Baba’. Later, they started pushing one another due to which several people fell to the ground, leading to chaos at the site.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Hathras (UP):

The stampede in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras that killed 121 people was triggered by a mad rush for dust. Men, women and children fell over each other, getting crushed, just to collect dust stirred up by the car of a self-styled godman. The organisers’ laxity and inadequate police force contributed to the tragedy. 

The stampede took place at a ‘satsang’ addressed by self-styled godman Suraj Pal aka Narayan Saakar Hari, whose followers called him Bhole Baba.

According to the FIR, the organisers of the ‘satsang’ sought permission for a gathering of 80,000-odd people, but a crowd of over 2.5 lakh turned up.

After the gathering, when the ‘godman’ was leaving, there was a rush among his followers to collect dust stirred up by his car’s tyres. According to the subdivisional magistrate’s report, the ‘godman’ private security guards started pushing his followers and some people fell and were trampled. In the chaos, many others fled towards the open field and slipped, and others ran over them. Many of those killed in the stampede are women and children.

The FIR states that Suraj Pal’s aides, known as sevadars, were carrying sticks and stopped the crowd from approaching the ‘godman’ and the rushing people fell on each other, suffocating the ones below.

According to eyewitnesses, only about 40 police personnel were on duty to ensure safety at this massive gathering and they were overwhelmed when the stampede broke out.

A total of 121 people have died in the stampede and 28 are in hospital. Although Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has assured that the state police will get to the bottom of this, there have been no arrests yet. Significantly, the ‘godman’ has not been named an accused in the case and is now missing. The FIR names his aide and main organiser of the event, Devprakash Madhukar, and other unidentified accused.

The FIR says the organisers concealed the number of people expected to attend the event and traffic management conditions were also not met. The organisers’ actions led to the stampede and attempts were also made to dispose of key evidence such as clothes and footwear of the victims, the FIR says.

The accused has been booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to culpable homicide not amounting to murder and wrongful restraint, among others.

The Chief Minister is at Hathras today. “Our government will get to the bottom of this incident and give appropriate punishment to the conspirators and those responsible. The state government is investigating this entire incident. We will see whether it is an accident or a conspiracy,” Mr Adityanath said yesterday.

Akhilesh Yadav, former Chief Minister and president of main Opposition Samajwadi Party, has said there is a need to identify the human errors that led to his tragedy and draw lessons for the future. “A thorough probe and action can stop a recurrence of such mishaps,” he said.

Asked if the self-styled godman may be arrested, state police chief Prashant Kumar yesterday said, “Right now, everything is a matter of investigation. We do not want to influence the investigation by drawing any immediate conclusion. The ambit of the investigation is open. Action will be taken based on the facts that come to light during the investigation.”

Hathras, UP:

After the Uttar Pradesh police carried out a search operation at Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri district in search of ‘Bhole Baba’, who hold a Satsang in Hathras where a stampede took place claiming the lives of 116 people, Deputy Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar revealed that Baba ji was not found inside the campus.

“We did not find Baba ji inside the campus…He is not here…” said Deputy SP Sunil Kumar.

#WATCH | Mainpuri | Hathras Stampede | Deputy SP Sunil Kumar says, “We did not find Baba ji inside the campus…He is not here…” https://t.co/zrjkIrVzphpic.twitter.com/KN7Dls4mOU

— ANI (@ANI) July 2, 2024

Aligarh DM Vishak G Iyer said that as many as 23 bodies have been brought to Aligarh and a total of three injured people are receiving treatment and out of them one is in critical condition.

“A total of 23 bodies have been brought to Aligarh…Three injured people from the Hathras incident are getting treatment at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College. Out of them, two are in stable condition whereas one is in critical condition. We have talked to the hospital administration and the procedure to take the (critical) patient to the ICU is underway…” said Aligarh DM Vishak G Iyer.

Hathras Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Manjeet Singh said that the procedure of identifying the bodies brought is underway. 19 out of a total of 32 have been identified.

“A total of 116 people have died so far…32 bodies were brought here and 19 of them have been identified. We are identifying the rest of them…” said Hathras Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Manjeet Singh.

Congress MP KL Sharma appealed to the state government that when such events are organised, they should ensure the proper safety of the people.

“I want to appeal to the state government that if such events are organised, they should also take care of the preparation and ensure proper safety of the people. I got to know that several women have lost their lives. The compensation amount should have been more, keeping the condition of the family in mind…” said Congress MP KL Sharma.

Reacting to the same incident, Congress MP Imran Masood said, “There are 32 bodies here and nine injured people, including one female police officer. A lot of them are yet to be identified…Right now, everyone is focused on providing relief to those who have suffered…”

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary called the Hathras incident “unfortunate”.”

Speaking to reporters, Samrat Choudhary said, “It is extremely unfortunate. The government is reviewing it. It is unfortunate that so many people lost their lives…”

Meanwhile, an eyewitness in the Hathras stampede incident, Shakuntala Devi said, “There was a Satsang of Bhole Baba going on. Right after the Satsang finished, several people started coming out from there. A stampede took place as the road was uneven and people fell on each other…”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)