Hathras Stampede: 108 Women, 7 Children Among 121 Killed, Police Hunt For 'Bhole Baba'

The number of deaths in the Hathras stampede increased to 121 as Uttar Pradesh police searched for ‘Bhole Baba’, linked to the religious congregation in Phulrai village where the tragic incident occurred.

Of the total victims, 108 were women and seven were children who were part of the crowd of thousands that had gathered near Phulrai village in the Sikandrarau area for the ‘satsang’ by the religious preacher. Here are some of the other top updates on the tragic incident that shook the country:

FIR Against Organisers

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday registered an FIR against the organisers of the religious congregation. ‘Mukhya sevadar’ Devprakash Madhukar and other organisers have been named in the first information report (FIR) filed at the Sikandara Rao police station late Tuesday, a senior officer told PTI.

The FIR has been registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 126 (2) (wrongful restraint), 223 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by the public servant), 238 (causing disappearance of evidence), the officer said.

Plea Filed in Supreme Court

A fresh plea has been filed in the Supreme Court concerning the Hathras stampede, underlining glaring lapses in administrative responsibility and safety measures. The plea points to a concerning pattern of not learning from past incidents, alleging a failure on the part of government authorities to uphold their duty towards public safety.

The petition outlines several grievances, asserting that the incident starkly reflects serious lapses in responsibility, negligence, and a lack of faithful duty of care by government authorities. It criticizes the inadequate security arrangements and facilities that were evidently insufficient in preventing such an unexpected tragedy.

Hunt For Bhole Baba

A search operation was conducted at Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri district to locate Baba Narayan Hari, also known as Saakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba. ‘We did not find Baba ji inside the campus. He is not here,’ Deputy Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar told ANI.

#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: Visuals from Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in ​​Mainpuri district.

What Happened in Hathras

On Tuesday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh said overcrowding was one of the reasons behind the stampede. After the ‘satsang’, devotees were running after the vehicle of “Bhole Baba” and had organised the event, while some bent down to collect soil from the venue and fell, Singh said.

“Overcrowding is one of the reasons (behind the stampede). There was a race among people who were running after his (Bhole Baba’s) vehicle. It has also been learnt that people collect soil from there (the path where the baba walked) and worship it. As a result, people started bending down and fell,” the chief secretary told PTI. Singh said the application submitted by the event organisers seeking permission to hold the ‘satsang’ put the number of attendees at 80,000 but the actual number was much higher.

UP Govt In Action

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is likely to visit Hathras, a senior government official said. The official said the chief minister is taking stock of the situation around the clock. 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. Meanwhile, the forensic unit along with the dog squad at the incident site in Hathras, where a stampede took place.

Bodies Being identified

On Tuesday, several bodies were lying on blocks of ice inside the government hospital in the aftermath of the deadly stampede, as the wailing relatives of the victims waited outside in drizzle to take mortal remains back home. Most of the people who died in a stampede during a ‘satsang’ organised have been identified.

Etah and Hathras are adjacent districts and people from Etah had also come to attend the ‘satsang’. Efforts are being made to identify the remaining bodies. Earlier, Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh, while giving details of the casualties to journalists, said that out of the victims, seven are children, one man and the rest are women.

Victims Account

Rajesh, who lives in Kasganj district, said he was looking for his mother, while Shivam searched for his paternal aunt (bua). Both carried mobile phones in their hands showing pictures of their relatives. “I watched my mother’s picture on a news channel and recognised her. She had come for the programme here along with two dozen other people from our village,” Rajesh said.

Anshu and Pabal Kumar waited near the CHC in their small pick-up truck, loaded with empty milk containers, hoping to find Gopal Singh, 40, the missing father of their cousin. “He went for the programme but hasn’t returned home yet. He is not street smart, doesn’t even carry a phone,” Anshu told PTI. He said Singh was not a follower of Baba but had gone to the event for the first time on the insistence of an acquaintance.

Meena Devi, who lost her mother Sudama Devi (65), said, “It was drizzling in the area (Sadiqpur) where I live, otherwise I had planned to go to the ‘sangat’ with my mother.” An inconsolable Meena sat outside the TB department of the Bagla Combined District Hospital where scores of bodies were kept on the ground floor.

“My brother and sister-in-law, their kids had accompanied my mother to the ‘Sangat’. In the crowd, my mother got left behind and was crushed over,” she told PTI. Vinod Kumar Suryavanshi, who lives in Barse village in the Sasni Tehsil, lost his 72-year-old maternal aunt while his mother luckily survived. “I have been here for three hours. The body is still here and I have been told it will go for post-mortem now but I am not sure how much more time it will take,” he said as he waited for his aunt’s son who was arriving here from Greater Noida.