Russian President Vladimir Putin. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday expressed condolences over the stampede at a religious congregation in Uttar Pradesh in which 121 people were killed.

“President of #Russia Vladimir Putin sent a condolence message to President of #India Droupadi Murmu & Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi over the tragic stampede in #UttarPradesh: Kindly accept the most sincere condolences over the tragic accident in Uttar Pradesh,” the Russian Embassy in India posted on X.

The stampede took place on Tuesday in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh. The victims were part of the crowd of thousands that had gathered near Phulrai village in the Sikandrarau area for the ‘satsang’ by a religious preacher.

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday lodged an FIR against the organisers of the religious congregation, accusing them of hiding evidence and flouting conditions with 2.5 lakh people gathering for the event in which only 80,000 were permitted.

Thousands of people were pressed into a small area, and then people began falling like nine pins, getting crushed under the weight of the crowd. Post-mortem reports of some of the victims of the Hathras tragedy – in which 121 people were killed – have revealed that, just like in other stampedes, the deaths were largely caused by chest injuries and suffocation. 

The other causes of the deaths in the 21 post-mortems conducted so far have been found to be head injuries, shock and haemorrhage. 

The post-mortem examinations were done by eight doctors at Agra’s SN Medical College and the Chief Medical Officer at the hospital said, “In most of the postmortem reports, it has been observed that most people died of chest injuries, internal bleeding and accumulation of blood near the chest. In stampedes, most deaths happen due to rib cage rupture or haemorrhage and that’s what has come up in these post-mortem reports too,” he said.

He also said that most bodies which came for the post-mortem were caked in mud. 

The stampede broke out at a religious gathering of self-styled godman Bhole Baba aka Saakar Narayan Hari in UP’s Hathras yesterday, which was reportedly attended by 2.5 lakh people against the sanctioned number of 80,000. People rushed to collect dust left in the wake of Bhole Baba’s car and his security team intervened to control the crowd. Many fell over an embankment, getting crushed, and the ensuing chaos led to a stampede. 

In a brief statement today, Bhole Baba, whose original name is Suraj Pal, blamed anti-social animals for the tragedy and said that he will take legal action against them. He also expressed his “deepest condolences” to the families of the victims.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered a judicial probe, led by a retired High Court judge. “The culprits won’t be spared,” the chief minister said.