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 from his car’s tyre trail. This triggered a killer stampede in which scores of people, including women and children, were trampled.

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 likely to visit Hathras today, a senior official has told news agency PTI.

“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.”

At least 121 people died after a stampede broke out at a religious event in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras last evening. The tragedy occurred during a ‘satsang’ of Bhole Baba aka Narayan Saakar Hari which was attended by over two lakh people.

The site was overcrowded and there was extreme humidity. Officials said the satsang venue was too small to accommodate a strong crowd of 2.5 lakh devotees.

A case has been filed against a close aide or ‘mukhya sewadar of the self-styled godman and the organisers of the event. The First Information Report or FIR, however, does not name Bhole Baba, whose original name is Suraj Pal Singh, as an accused.

Police said they are probing the role of the local administration and the organisers. Permission was granted for 80,000 people, but more than 2.5 lakh devotees attended the event, the FIR said.

The FIR also alleged that the organisers hid the actual number of devotees coming to the ‘satsang’ while seeking permission, did not cooperate in traffic management and hid evidence after the stampede.

Clips before the stampede showed people in a large ‘shamiana’, listening to Bhole Baba. The ‘baba’ sat before them on a throne-like chair.

Eyewitness said after the satsang ended, several devotees rushed towards the exit, while others moved in the opposite direction to collect the soil the preacher had walked on – causing a big crowd build-up in a small area.

“On the other side of the road, the crowd running in the water and mud-filled fields behind baba’s car was forcibly stopped by the organising committee with sticks, due to which the pressure of the crowd kept increasing and women, children, and men kept getting crushed,” the FIR said.

A compensation of Rs 2 lakh each has been announced for the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 for the injured.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken note of the incident and, on his directions, a committee has been set up to investigate the incident.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu also expressed their condolences to the families of those who were killed and said they were praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. PM Modi said the Centre is extending all possible help to the Uttar Pradesh government.

Stampede at religious event caused chaos as crowd surged forward to get close to Bhole Baba, injuring several attendees from various states. The incident, worsened by humid weather conditions and unexpected crowd size, resulted in casualties, with victims mostly from Hathras and Etah. Shyam Singh described the stampede as a tragic event exacerbated by narrow exit routes and a deep pit.