Stampede in religious gathering at Hathras of UP kills 121 people; godman, a former IPS officer absconds

New Delhi, July 3

A religious gathering ‘satsang’ of a self styled godman ‘Bhole Baba’ turned into a nightmare when a deadly stampede that killed  121 people in Hathras of Uttar Pradesh. 

The stampede happened at the congregation of Baba Narayan Hari alias Saakar Vishwa Hari 'Bhole Baba', a former policeman who turned into a religious preacher two decades ago. 

A report said nearly 2.5 lakh people turned up for the event.

The real name of Bhole Baba is Surajpal. He is a native of Bahadur Nagar in Kasganj district, a retired IPS officer. Surajpal has no children and takes his wife along with him to 'satsang'.

The police informed that the stampede took place at around 3.30 pm. Thousands of people were there at the venue and when Baba was leaving, many of them rushed to touch his feet. As they were returning, people slipped and fell over one another as parts of the ground had turned boggy with water overflowing from a nearby drain.

The police have filed an FIR against the organisers of the Hathras 'satsang'. The complaint mentions overcrowding at the venue, and security lapse on the part of the organisers, thus calling for an investigation. 

UP Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh told media that overcrowding was one of the reasons behind the stampede. Singh said the application submitted by the event organisers seeking permission to hold the 'satsang' put the number of attendees at 80,000, but the actual number was much higher. 

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, "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.''

According to a government statement, a team consisting of ADG Agra and Aligarh Divisional Commissioner has been constituted to inquire into the cause of the incident. The report is to be submitted within 24 hours. Three ministers Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary, Asim Arun and Sandeep Singh -were sent to the spot soon after the incident.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed profound sorrow over the stampede incident and announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia for the next of kin of the dead and Rs 50,000 for the injured. PM Modi also said senior officials of the central government were in constant contact with the Uttar Pradesh administration to coordinate aid efforts.