Hathras Stampede Live Updates: Main accused Madhukar sent to 14 days of police custody

The Judicial Commission team probing the stampede incident has reached Hathras Police Lines, reports PTI.

“We have just got the news that he (accused) has surrendered, however, a lot of investigation is needed to be done. If so many people were invited then was the administration aware of this? If yes, then what was the SOP for the crowd management?” asks RJD leader Manoj Jha.

“We don’t know if he (Sevadar Devprakash Madhukar) has been arrested or he has surrendered.There is no FIR against the main accused. You can call anyone the main accused but who was giving the speech there? This should be investigated,” says Congress leader Surendra Singh Rajput, reports PTI.

“Action should be taken against the culprits. Many people have lost their lives. It’s a very sad incident. However, no action has been taken yet against the administration,” says Samajwadi Party spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chaand, reports PTI.

• The Uttar Pradesh Police has now arrested seven satsang organisers, including two women, in connection with the stampede.  Aligarh IG Shalabh Mathur said, “They all are members of the organising committee and worked as ‘Sevadars’.”
• The police arrested Sevadar Devprakash Madhukar, the main accused in the case, from Delhi's Najafgarh area on Friday.
• Meanwhile, Yogi Adityanath has ordered a judicial probe led by retired High Court judge Brijesh Kumar Srivastava and two other retired IAS officers into the incident.
• The Additional Director General of Police (Agra Zone) Anupam Kulshrestha is leading a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) preparing a detailed report on the stampede.
• The preacher at the centre of the incident, Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari or ‘Bhole Baba’ has not been named in the FIR yet.

ahadur Nagar is a village consumed by faith — the kind that is unquestioning, leaving no space for disbelief. It’s this devotion that got Pratap Singh, 40, to forgo the daily wages that he gets as a labourer in Firozabad district and travel over a 100 km for “duty” to Bahadur Nagar village in neighbouring Kasganj.

Standing outside the pearly white fortress that’s the ashram of Suraj Pal alias Bholey Baba alias Narayan Sakaar Hari — the ‘godman’ at the centre of the Hathras stampede, one of the biggest such in recent times that led to at least 121 deaths and left many injured — Pratap Singh says, “This is a sacred place, you cannot come near it with your dirty shoes. This is a divine gate. Nobody is allowed past this gate. Like you can only feel hunger, but cannot see it, you can only experience the power of Bhole Baba. You cannot see his magic, but you can feel it.”

Read the full story here.

"Through my lawyer AP Singh, I have requested the members of the committee to stand with the bereaved families and the injured and help them throughout their lives," says Bhole Baba in a video statement to ANI.

Self-styled godman Narayan Sakar Hari, also known as ‘Bhole Baba’, who is at the center of the stampede case that killed 121 people in Hathras, urged people to “have faith in the administration”, saying “those who created chaos will not be spared.” This comes after the main accused in the case ‘Mukhya Sewadar’ Dev Prakash Madhukar was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police late Friday night from Najafgarh in Delhi.

The Uttar Pradesh police on Friday arrested, Sevadar Devprakash Madhukar, the main accused in the Hathras stampede case, from Delhi's Najafgarh area.

The Uttar Pradesh government's SIT probing the Hathras stampede has recorded 90 statements so far, the panel's chief Anupam Kulshrestha said on Friday.

Kulshrestha, also the Additional Director General of Police (Agra Zone), is leading the three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) preparing a detailed report on the stampede that claimed 121 lives after a satsang here on July 2.

Speaking exclusively to PTI in Hathras, ADG Kulshrestha said, "Ninety statements recorded so far. A preliminary report has been submitted while work on the detailed report is underway." On the status of police probe, the officer said the ambit of the investigation has been expanded as more evidence have emerged.

"Definitely, the gathered evidence suggests culpability on part of the organisers of the event," she said. Meanwhile, in Lucknow, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has been apprised of the initial SIT report on the stampede. (PTI)

Following his meet with the kin of victims, Rahul Gandhi said: "They said that there was a lapse on the part of the administration. They said that the police arrangement that should have been made was not there. But they are grieving and are in shock. I am trying to understand their situation."

Gandhi left from Delhi early morning by road and was accompanied by UP Congress chief Ajay Rai, state Congress in-charge Avinash Pande, party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate and other office bearers of the party during his visit to Aligarh and Hathras.

The grieving families of the 'satsang' stampede victims who met Rahul Gandhi in Hathras and Aligarh on Friday said the Congress leader has assured them he will make efforts to get their compensation enhanced.

The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha also assured that he would raise the stampede issue in Parliament in a bid to prevent such incidents in the future, they said, reports PTI.

Gandhi's meetings with the families in the two neighbouring districts in western Uttar Pradesh took place amid deployment of large number of security personnel by the state police.

Hari Mohan, a resident of Nai ka Nagla locality in Hathras, lost his paternal aunt Omvati, 55, in the stampede. "Rahul Gandhi interacted with us, extended his sympathies. He said he would make effort to get the compensation amount for victims enhanced," Mohan told PTI. 

In today's episode, Indian Express’ Dheeraj Mishra explains the circumstances that led to the Hathras stampede, and what the investigation has revealed so far about the lapses, and the preacher who convened the event.

Tune in here!

"The police presence at the event was minimal. Normally, for such events, police deployment is chargeable from the party that demands arrangements. After all, they earn from their followers. It remains to be seen if this practice was followed in Hathras, " writes a former director general of police who served in Uttar Pradesh.

Read the full opinion here.

Religious preacher Suraj Pal, also known as Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari or ‘Bhole Baba’, at whose satsang the Hathras stampede took place, was familiar with a notorious paper leak accused from Rajasthan, police say.

According to police, the preacher used to stay at Harshvardhan Meena’s place in Dausa whenever he visited Rajasthan. ADGP (Special Operations Group) V K Singh said Meena is the main accused in the Rajasthan 2020 Junior Engineer Exam (JEN) recruitment exam paper leak.

Congress leader Imran Mansood says, "Rahul Gandhi had come here to assure the victims that we are with them. We urge both the central and state governments to give some compensation to the victims. These are extremely poor people."

Congress leader Kunwar Danish Ali accompanied Rahul Gandhi to Hathras and met the affected families as well. He said, "It is a heart-wrenching incident. You get goosebumps after hearing the stories from the families of the victims. No accountability has been seen yet. So far, there has been no action."

Following his meeting with the affected families in Hathras, Rahul Gandhi said: “Many people have lost their lives I don’t wish to say it through political prism. However, there has been some negligence. It should be investigated. The most important thing is that these people should get compensation.”

He added, "They need it now, however, a delay in this won’t be helpful. I talked to the families. I had a very personal conversation."

Here are some glimpses of Rahul Gandhi's visit to Aligarh's Pilakhna village, where he met the affected families and assured them of help.

(Photos accesed by The Indian Express.)

Rahul Gandhi has recahed Hathras, where he is meeting the kin of stampede victims.

The Congress tweets, "The Congress family is with you in this hour of grief."

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— Congress (@INCIndia) July 5, 2024

"I was informed over a phone call that something has happened and one of our neighbours lost their son and my mother was missing. The 'Baba', at the end of the 'satsang' said that 'if you have any problems, collect the sand from below my feet while I walk away and keep it with you' and people ran to collect the soil. My mother was 55-60 years old and she could not even get up from her spot, people walked over her. My wife had fed her, gave her new clothes to wear while leaving from home and when I found her... her face was covered with soil, it was swollen, she had suffered many injuries. The 'Baba' is responsible for this. He could have sought help from the administration or police when he saw that more people have gathered than expected," says the son of one of the victims in Aligarh, reports PTI.

The senior Congress leader, who landed in Pilakhna village in Aligarh around 7.15 am, is scheduled to meet families of the stampede victims in Hathras's Vibhav Nagar area next.

As per the police, of the 121 people who died due to the stampede, 17 were from Aligarh and 19 were from Hathras.

"He (Rahul Gandhi) assured that he will help us in every possible way through his party. The administration at the 'satsang' venue was not good. My sister-in-law could have been saved if there was proper medical facility. There were no proper arrangements at the venue," says a family member of one of the victims, reports PTI.

Gandhi met the kin of Hathras stampede victims in Aligarh's Pilakhna village.

Rahul Gandhi has reached Pilakhna village in Aligarh, where he will meet the victim families of the Hathras stampede incident.

VIDEO | Congress MP Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) reaches Aligarh's Pilakhna village to meet the families of victims of #HathrasStampede.

(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvqRQz) pic.twitter.com/CpXTFSjTUR

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 5, 2024

This the latest update in the case: 

The Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested six satsang organisers, including two women, in connection with the stampede. Aligarh IG Shalabh Mathur said, “They all are members of the organising committee and worked as ‘Sevadars’.” Meanwhile, Yogi Adityanath has ordered a judicial probe led by retired High Court judge Brijesh Kumar Srivastava and two other retired IAS officers Hemant Rao and Bhavesh Kumar Singh, into the incident.

While the police has filed an FIR against the organisers, Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari or ‘Bhole Baba’ has not been named in the FIR yet.

The FIR names ‘mukhya sevadar’ Devprakash Madhukar, who is absconding. Police have announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to his arrest.

The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has left for Hathras in Uttar Pradesh early morning to meet the family members of the victims who died in a stampede that killed 121 people there, reported PTI. This comes after UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited Hathras on Wednesday and met the victims.

VIDEO | Congress MP and Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) leaves for UP's #Hathras from Delhi. He will be meeting the families of victims of #HathrasStampede, in which 121 people were killed, later in the day.

(Full video available on PTI Videos -… pic.twitter.com/pxpz71AtmC

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 5, 2024

Aligarh IG Shalabh Mathur said “Six people including four men and two women have been arrested in the incident. They all are members of the organising committee and worked as ‘Sevadars’. Police arrested Ram Ladete from Mainpuri, Upendra Singh Yadav from Firozabad, Mek Singh from Hathras, Manju Yadav from Sikandrarao, Mukesh Kumar from Sikandrarao, Manju Devi from Sikandrarao. 

Two days after Hathras stampede incident that killed 121 people, bodies of all victims have been identified. "There were three bodies which were unidentified till Wednesday.

Two of them were identified late last night," District Magistrate Asish Kumar told PTI. While one body was identified by the victim's kin over a video call in Aligarh, they are on their way to receive the mortal remains, Kumar added. The aatsang had a footfall of over 2.5 lakh people while the permitted limit was 80,000.

With PTI inputs

Wenguo Weng and others define a stampede as “an impulsive mass movement of a crowd that often results in injuries and deaths” (“Review of analyses on crowd-gathering risk and its evaluation methods”, 2023).

According to Illiyas and others, a stampede can be described as the “disruption of the orderly movement of crowds… leading to injuries and fatalities”, often “in response to a perceived danger, loss of physical space”, or “a will to attain something seen as gratifying”.

Why do stampedes kill?

Most stampede casualties are caused by traumatic asphyxia — there is partial or complete cessation of respiration due to external compression of the thorax and/or upper abdomen. Notably, significant compression forces, enough to hurt and kill humans, have been reported in even moderate crowds of six to seven people pushing in one direction.

Other possible reasons for stampede-related deaths include myocardial infarction (heart attack, caused by decreased or complete cessation of blood flow to a portion of the heart), direct crushing injury to internal organs, head injuries, and neck compression.

Read more

RJD leader Manoj Jha remarked setting up of SIT and constituting SOP after Hathras stampede incident as an eyewash.

Commenting on the incident, Jha told ANI, "...How many committees have been constituted for such accidents? We all know there will be no discussions about this matter after 2 days. This nation has become a nation of accidents... Was the local administration of the city not aware of the crowd? All of this is just an eyewash..." 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced that a retired judge will probe Tuesday’s deadly stampede at a satsang (religious congregation) held by a self-styled preacher in Hathras. The investigation will “pinpoint lapses” and the culprits won’t be spared, he has said.

Accountability for the incident that claimed more than 120 lives and left at least 300 injured must be fixed urgently.Initial reports indicate that the crowd gathered to hear the godman, Bhole Baba, far exceeded the estimate the organisers gave to the district administration. Many devotees tripped while trying to collect the soil the self-proclaimed preacher had walked on. There is no doubt that the satsang’s organisers must be held to account. But the state administration would be mistaken to assume that its role in a mass event, even if privately organised, is limited to issuing permissions and providing security.Along with the organisers, the onus is on state authorities to ensure that safety isn’t compromised. CM Adityanath’s allusion to “a conspiracy” sounds diversionary.

His government must deploy its energies and resources, instead, in uncovering the multiple failings behind the grievous incident, and ensuring that it does not happen again.

Read more

Samajwadi Party spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chand slammed the BJP-led UP government over Hathras stampede incident. Chand blamed the government over lives lost alleging that ambulances and necessary arrangements were not made timely.

"An SIT is formed every time any thing happens in Uttar Pradesh. There is a guideline of the Centre that says that the administration should arrange for ambulances, emergency exits and others in case of an accident. It is the failure of administration. BJP has not taken any steps against the administration. There were people who could have been saved, if there were proper arrangements," Chand told news agency PTI.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi will visit Hathras stampede site and meet those affected. Addressing media, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said, “It was an unfortunate incident. The leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha (Rahul Gandhi) is planning to visit Hathras. He will go there and interact with the people who are affected.”

Tributes have been pouring in for those who lost lives in Tuesday stampede in Hathras village. Several envoys in India expressed condolences on social media on Wednesday. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in his post on X wrote, ''Deeply distressed by the tragic loss of lives in a stampede in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. Sincere condolences to the bereaved families. Pray for the speedy recovery of the injured.

German envoy Philipp Ackermann mentioned he is deeply saddened by the incident and wrote on X, 'Deeply saddened about the tragic events in Hathras. My condolences to the families that lost their loved ones. We hope that help quickly reaches the injured.

Chinese envoy Xu Feihong wished for the speedy recovery of those injured and wrote, 'Shocked and saddened about the tragic events in Hathras, UP. Deeply mourn for the lives lost and extend heartfelt sympathies to victims' families. Wish the injured a speedy recovery.

French Ambassador to India Thierry Mathou followed suit saying, 'Deeply saddened by the loss of lives following the tragic stampede in Uttar Pradesh's #Hathras district. France expresses its deepest condolences to the bereaved families of the victims and wishes the injured a speedy recovery.

Israeli Ambassador Naor Gilon posted on X, 'Deeply saddened about the loss of lives at the tragic stampede in #Hathras, UP. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims. Wishing a speedy recovery to the injured. Such incidents are truly heartbreaking.' 

Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari or ‘Bhole Baba’, the local preacher who addressed the ‘satsang’ in Hathras where the stampede occurred on Tuesday — the toll rose to 121 on Wednesday — is revered by his followers who believe he’s a “healer” with “cures”, an “exorcist” who “gets rid of evil spirits”, and a “godman” with “magical powers” who can grant their wishes.In fact, his alleged claim of “magical powers” even got him arrested in Agra in 2000, when he allegedly took the body of a 16-year-old girl forcibly from her family, claiming he would bring her back to life.

The case was later closed.Over more than two decades now, after leaving the Uttar Pradesh Police in the 1990s where he was Constable Suraj Pal from Kasganj, to become a self-styled religious preacher, he has gathered a considerable following — mostly low-income Dalit families, where the men are employed as labourers, masons, agricultural labourers, safai karmacharis, carpenters or carpet-sellers, many of whom were witness to his rising popularity.Many said what drew them to ‘Bhole Baba’, also from a Dalit family, was that he did not seek any offerings.

“Baba does not take or ask for anything. In his satsang, he would tell us not to lie, and not to consume meat, fish, egg and alcohol,” said Urmila Devi, who had accompanied her sister, Taramati, to the satsang.Taramati, a widow, is among those injured. The two sisters are residents of Mathura. This was the fourth time Taramati was attending a satsang addressed by ‘Bhole Baba’, and she had asked her sister to join this time.

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Tuesday started off as a normal day for 31-year-old Pratap Singh, a daily wage labourer from Sokhna village in Hathras. He left for work early in the morning and did not know that his senior citizen mother, along with two other family members, including his nine-year-old niece, would leave for a Satsang in Phulrai village.

Around 3 pm, Singh’s phone started ringing repeatedly. He ignored some calls and when he picked one, he received disastrous news. His 70-year-old mother Jaimanti Devi, sister-in-law Rajkumari, 42 and nine-year-old Bhoomi – were all missing.

They had gone to attend a Satsang to be addressed by a local preacher, Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari aka ‘Bhole Baba’, and a stampede had occurred at the venue, he was told.All three of his family members got separated from each other amid the chaos. By the time Singh would know about their location, all three were dead and their bodies ended up in three different districts.

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• The death toll rose to 121 from 116
• Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited those injured at Hathras government hospital
• Adityanath ordered a judicial probe into the incident - led by a three-member panel consisting of retired High Court judge Brijesh Kumar Srivastava and two other retired IAS officers Hemant Rao and Bhavesh Kumar Singh
• FIR was registered against organisers, including charges related to culpable homicide, wrongful restraint and disappearance of evidence.
• Preacher Narayan Sakar Hari or Bhole Baba's name is not found in FIR
• 'Bhole Baba' releases statement expressing condolences and claims stampede was caused by anti-social elements

A satsang by a self-styled religious preacher Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras turned into the site of a tragedy as 121 people, almost all of them women, were killed in a stampede.

On Tuesday, the death toll stood at 116 and the next day it rose to 121. According to officials, Bhole Baba has been active in the region and adjoining districts for 27 years.

Hi ! Stay tuned here for latest news on UP Hathras Stamepede that killed 121 people and injured several others during a satsang hosted by self-styled preacher 'Bhole Baba' on Tuesday.