Police entered the ashram premises of religious preacher Jagat Guru Saakar Vishwahari Bhole Baba here and later said he was not present there. A police official said they had gone there to check security arrangements. Police personnel have been deployed outside the ashram since the stampede at the preacher's congregation in Harthras claimed 121 lives. In reply to a question by reporters, Circle Officer Sunil Kumar Singh said police and special operation group (SOG) personnel entered the ashram premises on Wednesday night. "There were 50-60 sevadars (volunteers), including women, inside the ashram," he said. Asked whether 'Satsang' preacher Bhole Baba is inside the ashram or not, the police officer said, "He (Baba) was neither there yesterday nor today." Additional Superintendent of Police, Mainpuri, Rahul Mithas said the preacher was not seen in his ashram. Asked why police personnel entered the ashram, he said, "We are not here for a probe. We are here to check security." The Utt
The cop-turned-preacher also condemned the tragedy and blamed "anti-social elements" for the incident. The godman also claimed that a conspiracy was hatched, which should be investigated
The stampede occurred during a satsang (prayer meeting) organised by self-styled godman Bhole Baba, also known as Narayan Saakar Hari
Latest news updates: Catch all the news updates from around the world here
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
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is likely to visit Hathras on Wednesday where a stampede at a religious congregation killed 116 people, a senior government official said. The official said the chief minister is taking stock of the situation round the clock. Meanwhile, UP Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh and DGP Prashant Kumar have reached the spot. 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, the government said in a statement. Adityanath is holding a meeting with senior officials at his residence here, it said. Later, the government said that three ministers -- Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary, Asim Arun and Sandeep Singh -- have been sent to the spot. Speaking to reporters at his residence, Adityanath said, "Our government will get to the bottom of this incident and give appropriate punishment to the conspirators and those responsible. The sta
Union minister and Apna Dal (Sonelal) president Anupriya Patel has written a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the rejection of OBC and SC/ST candidates for state government posts by declaring them not found suitable. In her letter dated June 27, Patel said that she has been constantly contacted by candidates from the backward classes and scheduled caste/ scheduled tribe category over the issue. "...in various competitive examinations conducted by the state government, which have only an interview-based recruitment process, the candidates of these classes are often declared 'not found suitable' for the posts reserved for them and none of them are selected," she said. She alleged that this process is adopted many times for these posts in competitive examinations and later the posts reserved for other OBC and SC/ST candidates are declared unreserved." Patel also alleged that even after passing the minimum eligibility criteria for these examinations based on
The Uttar Pradesh government has suspended six officials of civic agencies for gross negligence following road cave-ins and waterlogging at several sections of the newly-built Ram Path in Ayodhya. About 15 bylanes and streets along the Ram Path were flooded after rain on June 23 and June 25. Even homes along the road went under water. Portions of the 14-kilometre road stretch also caved in at more than a dozen places. The suspended officials are Dhruv Aggarwal (executive engineer), Anuj Deshwal (assistant engineer) and Prabhat Pandey (junior engineer) of the Public Works Department (PWD) and Anand Kumar Dubey (executive engineer), Rajendra Kumar Yadav (assistant engineer) and Mohammad Shahid (junior engineer) of the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam. Aggarwal and Deshwal were suspended on the orders of special secretary Vinod Kumar on Friday. Pandey's suspension order was issued by PWD chief engineer (development) VK Srivastav. Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam managing director Rakesh Kumar Mishra .
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said that the rule of law is fundamental to good governance and the state police has excelled in maintaining it. "The state bears the responsibility for maintaining security, and our police force excels in this duty," Adityanath said while flagging off the upgraded police response vehicles (PRVs) in the second phase of UP-112 from his official residence here. He said that the demand for modernising the police force to meet contemporary needs had been long-standing. "The rule of law is fundamental to good governance and ensuring secure and safe environment in the state is very important," the chief minister said. "At the DG conference, the prime minister outlined a new vision for the directors general of police across the country, emphasising changes in the law and the concept of smart policing. He (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) advocated for being strict yet sensitive, modern and mobile, alert and accountable, reliable and ..
CM emphasised that an online system for stamps and registration is crucial for ease of living
The Uttar Pradesh government has transferred 11 Indian Police Service officers, including the police commissioners of Lucknow and Prayagraj, officials said on Saturday. IPS officer Amarendra Kumar Sengar is the new police commissioner of Lucknow. He has replaced S B Shiradkar who has been posted as additional director general of police (ADG) Lucknow Zone. Earlier, Sengar was ADG Lucknow Zone. ADG Bareilly Zone Prem Chand Meena has been made ADG/MD Police Housing Corporation. He will be replaced by Prayagraj Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma. Vinod Kumar Singh has been made ADG Cyber Crime while ADG/MD Police Housing Corporation Prakash D has been given the responsibility of ADG Railway. ADG Railway Jai Narayan Singh has been sent to PTC Sitapur. ADG Special Security L V Antony Dev Kumar has been posted as ADG, CBCID. ADG Security Raghuveer Lal has been given the additional responsibility of ADG Special Security Force along with his current post. ADG, CBCID K Satyanarayan has been
The world has embraced yoga due to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Friday on International Day of Yoga. Governor Anandiben Patel and CM Adityanath performed different asanas as they led the Yoga Day celebrations in the state. They were joined by hundreds of people on the lawns of the Governor's House here. Addressing the gathering, Patel said, "International Yoga Day is actually a day for new encouragement. The day encourages us to take pride in our traditions." Speaking before her, the chief minister said "nearly 200 countries" have embraced yoga due to Modi's efforts. "We owe this opportunity to our esteemed prime minister whose vision and initiatives have led to nearly 200 countries embracing International Yoga Day. "These countries have aligned themselves with our rich Indian heritage, thus honouring and enriching our culture and traditions. There can be no greater tribute to our ancestors, traditions, and herit
The demolition work of illegal buildings on the river bed of Kukrail river in Akbarnagar has been completed, officials of the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) on Wednesday said. Around 1,169 illegal residential properties and over 100 commercial properties were demolished using heavy machinery, including bulldozers, they said. The demolition work to vacate the illegal encroachment over an area of 24.5 acre land began in December last year. Over 1,320 illegal structures, including the religious places of both Hindu and Muslim communities, have been demolished in the area. The LDA officials said that around 100 buildings were demolished on Tuesday and added the work of clearing the debris will be undertaken now. The families living in Akbarnagar who lost their houses have been provided alternate accommodation under the PM Awas Yojna in other part of the city. Over 1,800 families of Akbarnagar have received the accommodation. The state government has proposed to develop an eco-to
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said that for the first time since independence, farmers in 2014 became a part of the country's political agenda. Addressing a PM Kisan Samman Sammelan in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi here, Adityanath said several schemes were launched by the Modi government to increase the income of farmers and transform their lives. He added that the schemes ranged from Soil Health Card to Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, and "today its results are visible". "When Prime Minister Modi took oath for the third time, the first thing he did was to sign a file dedicated to the farmers. Today crores of farmers are benefiting from Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi," Adityanath was quoted as saying in a statement. The chief minister mentioned that for the first time in 62 years, a politician has brought about extensive changes in the lives of all sections of society through his work and took oath as the Prime Minister for the third
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked officials to immediately remove encroachments on the banks of rivers and ponds. He issued the instructions at a meeting on Thursday. "There are encroachments on the banks of Ramganga river in Moradabad. A similar situation can be seen in Kashi, Saharanpur and other districts," the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said in a post on X quoting Adityanath. "At present, efforts are being made for the revival of the Kukrail river in Lucknow. Illegal settlements have been removed and (their residents have been) rehabilitated elsewhere. Similarly, work should be done in other districts as per local requirements," he said. The chief minister asked the officials to ensure there are no settlements in the river basin. "Old ponds, ponds and other water bodies should be preserved. If there are any encroachments, they should be removed immediately," he said. A drive to demolish illegal constructions in Akbarnagar I and II along the Kukrail riv
He said that when assessing the state's economic growth rate against national standards, efforts have yielded commendable results
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday directed officials to complete all works related to the public within the stipulated time frame, warning that negligence will not be tolerated. Adityanath issued this directive during 'Janata Darshan', a public grievance meeting, at his official residence in Kalidas Marg here, according to a statement. He interacted with each attendee to understand their grievances and instructed the officials concerned to resolve them immediately, the statement said. "The chief minister instructed the officials that the works related to the common people should be done within the stipulated time frame. Ignoring any work will not be tolerated at all," the release quoted him as saying. Issues related to the public are the priority of the government, Adityanath added. A large number of youths also attended the Janta Darshan, where the chief minister not only addressed their personal problems but also engaged with them on various issues, the ..
Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath said Punjab has turned into a "den of land, drug and sand mafia", and he would send bulldozers to crush these mafia groups if BJP comes to power in Punjab
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said Congress and Samajwadi Party leaders seem to have lost their minds on the issue of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and asserted that the "adversaries of Lord Ram have never found lasting peace". He also said only a Ram Bhakt (devotee of Lord Ram) will rule Delhi and that people will dump the Congress and the SP, which "follow the politics of appeasement". Addressing an election rally in Gorakhpur, Adityanath said, "Congress says the construction of the temple has sent a wrong message globally and should not have been built, whereas the Samajwadi Party dismisses the temple as useless. The leaders of both parties seem to have lost their minds." "The Ram Bhakts (devotees) have built an international airport named after Maharishi Valmiki in Ayodhya, a waiting room named after Shri Ram's friend Nishadraj, and a restaurant named after Mata Shabari. They have also installed a 56-foot statue in honour of Nishadraj in Prayagraj," he ...
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said people have seen a "changing India" under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and added that there is a "huge difference" between the India before 2014 and the India of 2024. CM Adityanath said that before 2014, there was "mistrust and identity crisis" but now the world looks at India with respect. Wherever Prime Minister Modi goes in the world, the entire country comes out to welcome him, he said. Addressing a rally in support of BJP candidate from Ghazipur Parasnath Rai, in which Prime Minister Modi was also present, Adityanath appealed to people to include Ghazipur too in 'iss baar 400-paar'. Adityanath said that all the parties of the INDIA bloc, including the Congress, SP, and RJD are scared because they never dreamt of fighting on 400 seats. Whereas the BJP is moving towards achieving this goal due to the contributions made to the country under the leadership of PM Modi with people's blessings. The UP .