Page 10 - Stampede

Main accused in Hathras stampede arrested; police link to political parties

Devprakash Madhukar, the main accused in the July 2 Hathras stampede that killed 121 people, was arrested from Delhi's Najafgarh area by a Special Operations Group of Hathras police, officials said on Saturday. Madhukar, who was arrested late night on Friday, was contacted by some political parties recently, Hathras Superintendent of Police Nipun Agarwal said. Agarwal said Madhukar worked as a fundraiser for events of self-styled godman Surajpal alias Narayan Sakar Hari alias Bhole Baba and collected donations. The police will apply for remand of Madhukar, he said. "His financial transactions, money trails are being looked into, and call detail records also being checked," Agarwal added. However, on Friday night, Madhukar's lawyer A P Singh had claimed he had surrendered to the police in Delhi, where he had come for medical treatment. Around 2.15 pm on Saturday, Madhukar was brought by the police to the Bagla Combined District Hospital in Hathras for a medical examination amid hea

Hathras stampede: Mayawati seeks action, warns against following 'babas'

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday demanded strict action against Bhole Baba and others for the July 2 Hathras stampede that claimed 121 lives. Addressing the poor, Dalit and the oppressed, the BSP chief, in a post on X, urged them not to be misled by preachers like Bhole Baba. "The poor, Dalits and the oppressed in the country should not worsen their misery and pain by getting misled by the superstitions and hypocrisy of many such babas like Bhole Baba of Hathras to get rid of their poverty and all other problems," she said in a post in Hindi on X. "Instead, they should follow the paths shown by Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, take power into their own hands, and change their destiny themselves. This means they must join their own party, the BSP. Only then can they avoid tragedies like the Hathras incident," Mayawati said in the post. In another post on X, she said that strict action should be taken against Baba Bhole and others who are found guilty in the Hathra

Hathras stampede: UP govt hiding failure with minor arrests, says Akhilesh

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday accused the Uttar Pradesh government of trying to hide its failure in the Hathras stampede that killed 121 people by making "minor arrests". Yadav, in a post on 'X', said that it looks like such accidents will continue to happen since the state government does not seem to have learnt from the administrative lapses that led to the stampede. The SP chief also tagged a letter addressed to him in his post on X, in which, Ankit Yadav, a resident of Mainpuri district, claims that his father has been wrongly framed in connection with the stampede, and insists that his father has no link with the incident. In a post on 'X' in Hindi, Yadav said, "To hide its failure in the 'Hathras incident', the UP government wants to shirk responsibility for the deaths of hundreds of people by making minor arrests. If this happens, it will mean that no one has learnt any lesson from the administrative failure in such events and such accidents will keep ...

Hathras stampede: Main accused fled to Delhi after incident, now in custody

Devprakash Madhukar, the main accused in the July 2 Hathras stampede that claimed 121 lives, had fled to Delhi after the deadly episode before Uttar Pradesh Police got him into its custody late last night, officials said. Madhukar's lawyer A P Singh late Friday night claimed his client had surrendered to the police in Delhi. A police official told PTI that Madhukar was picked up by a Special Operations Group (SOG) team of Hathras police. "He was taken into custody from Delhi, near Najafgarh area," another police officer in Hathras said, requesting anonymity. However, police are yet to officially announce the arrest of Madhukar, the 'mukhya sevadar' of the 'satsang' where the stampede occurred. He is the only accused named in the FIR lodged at Sikandra Rao police station in Hathras in connection with the incident. In a video message, Madhukar's lawyer A P Singh claimed that his client had surrendered in Delhi, where he was undergoing treatment. "Today, we have surrendered Devpraka

Hathras stampede: 'Those responsible will not be spared', says Bhole Baba

Surajpal Singh, also known as 'Bhole Baba', said he has asked his committee to extend help to those who were injured in the Hathras stampede

Hathras stampede: Main suspect Madhukar surrenders, says Advocate AP Singh

Union Minister Nityanand Rai on Friday said the Central government has extended cooperation to the Uttar Pradesh government in the investigation into the stampede in Hathras

Hathras stampede: Hunt for key accused launched, inter-state searches on

While Madhukar, the 'mukhya sevadar' (chief organiser of the satsang), is the only named accused in the FIR, Surajpal was not mentioned as accused

Hathras stampede occurred after Baba said 'mere charno ki dhool lo': Locals

Hathras stampede updates: As many as 121 people, mostly women, died in the stampede that occurred in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday during a satsang event organised by Saakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba

From 24 ashrams to luxury cars, Bhole Baba possesses Rs 100 crore in assets

Preacher 'Bhole Baba', identified as Suraj Pal, resides in the Mainpuri Ashram in Bichuva, an extensive property covering 21 bighas of land, known as Hari Nagar

Rahul Gandhi leaves for Hathras to meet stampede-affected families today

An FIR has been registered on the incident naming organizers of the prayer meeting but 'Bhole Baba' has not been named yet

6 held in connection with Hathras stampede which claimed 121 lives: Police

The organisers of the event had taken permission for a gathering of only 80,000 people, an initial police report said

UP to have SOPs for gatherings to prevent Hathras-like tragedies: Min

A day after a stampede in Hathras claimed 121 lives, Uttar Pradesh minister Asim Arun on Wednesday said the state government has started work on SOPs for granting permission for large gatherings to prevent such incidents in future. He said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has instructed officials to prepare the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and permission for events would be granted only if the "basic, minimum" conditions for amenities are met. Arun, the minister of state for social welfare, is part of a three-minister committee formed by Adityanath for supervising the relief measures in the aftermath of the stampede. Explaining how the tragedy unfolded, he said, "It appears sevadars (volunteers) who were managing things inside did something wrong in terms of crowd management and that is another lesson learnt." "We should not leave it to sevadars or volunteers. They do a great job, of course, but the police and magistrates are more experienced," he said. So, the chief ministe

From cop to controversial guru: Unfolding the legacy of 'Bhole Baba'

The stampede occurred during a satsang (prayer meeting) organised by self-styled godman Bhole Baba, also known as Narayan Saakar Hari

Hathras stampede: SDM report cites shoving by security, 'slippery slope'

Chaos caused after Narayan Sakaar Hari's followers, who tried to reach near his vehicle to seek "darshan", were pushed by the godman's security and a "slippery slope" resulted in the stampede that killed 121 people in Hathras, a preliminary report of the SDM said. Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Sikandra Rao submitted the preliminary report on the stampede to the district magistrate (DM). The SDM, who gave permission for the 'satsang' (religious congregation), was also present at the venue when the incident occurred, according to the report. "A crowd of more than 2 lakh people was present in the satsang pandal. Shri Narayan Sakar Hari (Bhole Baba) reached the satsang pandal at about 12.30 pm and the program went on for 1 hour. "After this, at about 1.40 pm, Shri Narayan Sakaar Hari (Bhole Baba) came out of the pandal to go towards Etah on National Highway-91," the preliminary report said, adding that when the godman was leaving the venue, his followers started running towards him f

Hathras tragedy: A look at the deadliest stampedes in India over the years

Recent stampedes in India have occurred due to a combination of factors, like high turnout at religious, or other social events, poor crowd management and poorly managed venues and infrastructure

Hathras stampede: Plea filed in SC to probe incident by expert committee

The plea sought direction from the committee to suggest and frame guidelines and safety measures to avoid such incidents in a large number of public gatherings

Hathras stampede: Autopsies rise, show most deaths caused by asphyxia

Asphyxia due to compression was the leading cause of death among the victims of the Hathras stampede who were brought to the district hospital in neighbouring Etah on Tuesday, a senior doctor said. The hospital performed four times the usual number of autopsies in a day in the aftermath of the stampede, he said. As many as 27 bodies were brought to the mortuary of the district hospital here after the stampede at Hathras' Phulrai village on Tuesday. The overall toll stood at 121 and bodies were taken to various hospitals in nearby areas including Etah and Aligarh. "Of the 27 bodies brought here, the post-mortem of 19 was concluded while the mortuary staff prepared for the 20th autopsy around midnight," Etah's Additional Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ram Mohan Tiwari told PTI. Six bodies remained to be identified, he said. "Asphyxia due to compression was found to be the cause of death in almost all the cases," Tiwari said, adding a majority of the victims were women in the 40-50 age ..

Hathras stampede: Toll rises to 121, FIR registered against organisers

The death toll in the stampede at a religious congregation in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras has risen to 121, a senior official said on Wednesday. According to the Office of the Relief Commissioner, the number of people injured in Tuesday's incident stands at 28. Of the total fatalities, 19 are yet to be identified, it said. The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday registered an FIR against the organisers of the religious congregation. On Tuesday Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Manoj Kumar Singh put the death toll at 116. Barring seven children and a man, all the casualties were women. The victims were part of the crowd of thousands that had gathered near Phulrai village in the Sikandrarau area for the 'satsang' by religious preacher Bhole Baba. The stampede took place at around 3.30 pm when Baba was leaving the venue.

Hathras stampede: FIR says organisers flouted conditions, hid evidence

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday lodged an FIR against the organisers of the religious congregation in Hathras where 121 people died in a stampede, accusing them of hiding evidence and flouting conditions with 2.5 lakh people gathering for the event in which only 80,000 were permitted. However, the congregation or 'satsang' conductor Jagat Guru Saakar Vishwahari has not been named in the FIR though his name is in the complaint. The FIR 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, which broke out after people gathered there stopped to collect mud from the way the baba's vehicle was passing. The FIR apparently gave a clean chit to the police and administration, saying they did whatever possible from the available resources. 'Mukhya sevadar' Devprakash Madhukar and other organisers have been named in the first information report (FIR) fil

Hathras stampede: UP religious gathering claims 121 lives; Latest updates

The stampede at an event in Hathras by Suraj Pal, known as 'Bhole Baba', caused devastating suffocation and a pile-up of bodies, marking it as one of the most severe tragedies in recent years