New Delhi: At least 116 people, including women and children, were killed after a stampede at a ‘satsang’ (religous event) in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras on Tuesday. The State government has ordered a probe into the incident and dispatched three ministers to reach the spot and monitor relief work.
Inspector General (Aligarh) Shalabh Mathur confirmed that 116 people have died so far. “An FIR will be filed against the organisers of the satsang as the crowd at the event was more than what was permitted. A high-level enquiry has been ordered,” he said.
The satsang was organised by the Manav Mangal Milan Sadbhavna Samagam Committee for self-styled godman Narayan Sakar Hari, also known as ‘Sakar Vishwa Hari’ or ‘Bhole Baba’.
According to eyewitnesses, the devotees suffocated to their deaths and bodies piled atop each other in the stampede, among the biggest such tragedies in recent years. They were rushed to the district’s Sikandara Rao Trauma Centre and the government hospital in Etah.
Videos from the spot showed people bringing the victims, dead or unconscious, in ambulances, trucks and cars to Sikandara Rao Trauma Centre. Heartbreaking scenes unfolded as many of the injured were seen lying near the entrance of the hospital surrounded by anxious relatives.
According to Sikandra Rao sub-divisional magistrate Ravendra Kumar, the stampede took place when devotees tried to get a glimpse of the Bhole Baba, who conducted the ‘satsang’, at the end of the event. They also wanted to collect some soil from around the baba’s feet, he told news agency PTI.
In a statement, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, “The incident is extremely sad and heart-wrenching… Local organisers had organised a program of ‘Bhole Baba’. After the program, when the preacher of the Satsang was coming down from the stage, suddenly a crowd of devotees started going towards him to touch him and when the ‘sevadars’ stopped them, this accident happened there.”
“To investigate this entire matter, we have formed a team under the chairmanship of Additional DG Agra and have asked them to give a detailed report. In view of the incident, the Chief Secretary and DGP of the state are camping there. Three ministers of the state government Chaudhary Laxmi Narayan, Sandeep Singh, Asim Arun, all three of them are at the spot,” he added.
The Chief Minister also gave instructions to provide financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs 50 thousand to the injured. He is likely to visit Hathras on Wednesday.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Lok Sabha’s Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed their condolences to the families of those who have died.