Lucknow:

Overcrowding was the main reason behind the stampede at a ‘satsang’ in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras that claimed 121 lives, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has said in its report to the Yogi Adityanath government.

The report, prepared by Additional Director General of Police (Agra) Anupam Kulshreshtha and Aligarh Divisional Commissioner Chaitra V, has statements by 128 witnesses, including the cops on duty at the satsang of Narayan Sakar Hari, popularly called ‘Bhole Baba’. The report has been submitted to the state Home Department and Chief Minister Adityanath is likely to have a look at it today.

While details are awaited, some reports claim that the SIT has said the self-styled godman and his aides could have prevented the tragedy.  

Earlier, the FIR registered in connection with the ‘satsang’ had said that the organisers of the ‘satsang’ sought permission for a gathering of 80,000-odd people, but a crowd of 2.5 lakh turned up. A total of nine people, including main organiser of the July 2 event, Devprakash Madhukar, have been arrested.

The self-styled godman, Narayan Sakar Hari, has not been named an accused in the FIR and has been on the run since the stampede took place. His lawyer AP Singh has put out a statement, saying that the preacher is ready to cooperate with the investigators. Thereafter, the lawyer also pointed to a conspiracy and claimed that unidentified men had sprayed poison at the event, triggering the stampede.

Senior police officer Anupam Kulshreshtha told news agency PTI last week that they have not ruled out the conspiracy angle, even though evidence gathered so far suggest culpability on the part of the organisers.

The stampede, according to reports, began when the ‘godman’ was leaving and his followers rushed to collect dust stirred up by his car’s tyres. According to the subdivisional magistrate’s report, the godman’s 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.

In the aftermath of the incident, Chief Minister Adityanath had assured strict action, while not ruling out a conspiracy.

“If this is not an accident, then whose conspiracy is this? All of these will be probed,” he had said. Besides the SIT, a judicial panel headed by a retired high court judge is investigating the stampede.

Hathras:

Chotelal and his wife Manju Devi had gone to Hathras on Tuesday to attend ‘Bhole Baba’s’ satsang, just like they had been doing for the last 4-5 years. They also took their 6-year-old son hoping that he would learn something from the preachings. But the day ended on a tragic note, one that Chotelal had not imagined even in his scariest dreams – his wife and son died in a stampede at the end of the ‘Satsang’ that also claimed the lives of 119 other people.

The incident unfolded during a gathering of followers of self-styled godman Narayan Sakar Hari, also known as ‘Bhole Baba’. As devotees gathered to catch a glimpse of the godman leaving in his car, pandemonium erupted triggering a stampede. Witnesses recounted the horror as people scrambled to avoid the crush, with many falling victim to the tumultuous surge.

Chotelal spoke through tears of his devastating loss. “I was near the main gate when the stampede started. My wife fell into a pit filled with water as she tried to escape. Both my wife and son did not survive,” he lamented, his voice choked with grief.

For families like Chotelal’s, the aftermath has been a harrowing ordeal. Identifying loved ones among the deceased in various mortuaries across Hathras has become a painful ritual. The injured, scattered across multiple hospitals, have left relatives desperately searching for information and solace.

After #Hathras Tragedy, Grieving Families Left With Questions And Anger#GroundReport by @TanushkaDuttapic.twitter.com/xnt4SQxg38

— NDTV (@ndtv) July 5, 2024

The daughter-in-law of another victim, Premvati, described the chaos and trauma her family endured. “My mother-in-law was our pillar of strength,” she said, her voice trembling with emotion. “We have been associated with Bhole Baba for nearly a decade, attending his satsangs regularly. Now she is gone, and we are left questioning why this happened.”

Both families also have one more question, “If Bhole Baba can perform miracles, why did this happen and why hasn’t he brought his followers back to life.”

Survivors recount scenes of sheer terror and helplessness. One survivor, who narrowly escaped the stampede, recalled being trapped under a pile of people. “There was no space to move. I lost consciousness and woke up in the hospital,” she recounted, her face still bearing the marks of the ordeal. “We were calling out for help, but it was chaos all around.”

“When I Went To The Hospital…”: Man Who Lost Mother In #Hathras Tragedy Breaks Down pic.twitter.com/Yau44cYSnx

— NDTV (@ndtv) July 5, 2024

Amidst the tragedy, the political blame game has begun, overshadowing the voices of grief-stricken families who are struggling to come to terms with their losses. Calls for accountability and measures to prevent such disasters in the future are echoing through the grief-stricken community.

Hathras (UP):

Two days after the killer stampede at a religious gathering in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras left 123 people dead, police are yet to make any arrests. Self-styled godman Narayana Sakar Hari, who addressed the ‘satsang’, is still at an unknown location, but his lawyer has said he will cooperate in the probe.

Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak told NDTV that the investigation report is expected soon and no one who is guilty will be spared. “We are committed to taking strict action,” he said.

The Deputy Chief Minister has said the autopsy of 118 bodies has been done so far, and five are yet to be identified. “We have sent the bodies to their families after post-mortem. Twenty injured are being treated in hospitals here,” he said.

Asked why the FIR does not mention Narayan Sakar Hari, also known as ‘Bhole baba’, “Let the report come, no one will be spared, no matter how well-connected they are,” he said.

On the factors that led to the killer stampede, the Deputy Chief Minister said, “We will be able to tell anything after the report comes.”

The stampede on Tuesday afternoon was triggered by a mad rush for dust. According to the FIR, about 2.5 lakh people had turned up for the ‘satsang’ even though police had sought permission for a gathering of 80,000.

When the godman was leaving after the satsang, a large group of followers approached his car to collect the dust stirred up by the tyres. According to the subdivisional magistrate’s report, the godman’s private security guards started pushing his followers and some people fell and were trampled. Many others fled towards the open field and slipped, and others ran over them.

Devprakash Madhukar, Narayan Sakar Hari’s close aide and main organiser of the event, has been named accused in the FIR. Police conducted raids at many locations across Hathras, Etah and Mainpuri to arrest the accused. 

The preacher’s lawyer AP Singh said in a statement last night that Narayan Sakar Hari is ready to cooperate with the state administration and the police. “Some anti-social elements hatched a conspiracy,” he alleged.

A three-member judicial commissioned, headed by Allahabad High Court’s retired judge, Justice Brijesh Kumar Srivastav, is investigating the tragedy. The panel is likely to submit its report in two months.

Announcing the judicial panel probe, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath raised a big question. “If this is not an accident, then whose conspiracy is this? All of this will be probed,” he told the media during his visit to Hathras, where he met those injured and visited the spot where the stampede took place.

The Chief Minister, when asked why the ‘godman’ has not been named an accused, said, “Prima facie, the case has been filed against those who applied for permission for the event. Whoever is responsible for this will come under its purview.”

Besides the judicial panel, a special investigation team led by Agra’s Additional Director General of Police Anupam Kulshreshtha is probing the incident.

The Uttar Pradesh government has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the families of those killed in the stampede. Many families, reports say, are still looking for their own who attended the ‘satsang’. Rajkumari Devi from Unnao told news agency PTI, “It’s only the poor who meet this fate, not the rich.”

She was seated in an ambulance, next to her sister-in-law Ruby’s body. The dead woman’s five-year-old son is missing (as on last night). Asked if she had any demands from the government, she replied, “What do we say now? There’s nothing (to ask for).”