Death toll rises to 116 in stampede at religious event in UP's Hathras

Laxity on the part of the organisers of the ‘Bhola Baba Satsang’ is said to be the cause of the tragedy.

The Chief Secretary of the state Manoj Kumar Singh and Director General of Police (DGP) Prashant Kumar, arrived to take stock of the incident and the situation. DGP Prashant Kumar, who along with Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh reached here, told reporters that 116 people have lost their lives.

He said an FIR will be registered against the organisers and others.

A one-day satsang of Sakar Hari Baba was going on in a field of Fullerai Mughalgarhi under Sikandrarao police station in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh. After the completion of the satsang, a large number of Baba's followers had gathered there in a race to get Baba's darshan.

Thousands of people  rushed to leave the makeshift tent, setting off a stampede that killed at least 115 persons and left scores injured, officials said.

The DGP said that permission for 80,000 people was taken in the satsang but a crowd of more people than the permission reached there.

A case will be registered against the organizers and strict action will be taken. He said that a large number of injured people have been admitted to the surrounding districts in the accident.

“There is a possibility that the death toll may increase. The administration is still collecting data on the total number of people who died in the incident. The death toll may increase further. At the same time, proper treatment of the injured is going on”,he said.

Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh said that efforts are on to identify all the dead and injured, investigation is going on at  all points in the incident. He said strict action will be taken.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a meeting with senior officials at his residence over the incident. He said  that an investigation committee has been formed. The Chief Secretary and DGP are camping at the spot.

The Chief Secretary and DGP, including the three ministers Asim Arun, Sandeep Singh and Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary, who have been sent to the spot, are constantly in touch with them and are being reported moment by moment.

The Chief Minister has also announced financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each of the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to the injured, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also announced financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to the injured.

In Uttar Pradesh's Hathras district, lakhs of devotees gathered in the program of Bhole Baba, famous as Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari, on Tuesday. The real name of Sakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba, responsible for the Hathras accident, is Suraj Pal, who used to work as a head constable in Uttar Pradesh Police. Suraj Pal alias Bhole Baba was posted in LIU (Local Intelligence Unit) in Etawah about twenty-eight years ago.

According to information, Suraj Pal was dismissed from the police department after being caught in a case 26 years ago. After being dismissed from the job and released from jail, he changed his name and identity and became Suraj Pal Bhole Baba. Currently, he has his own security team like Baba Ram Rahim.

After the accident in Hathras, he has fled from the district with his convoy. The satsang was organized by about 78 organizers. Police and administrative action are being taken against all of them. All the organizers meanwhile have fled from the spot and  gone underground.