Lucknow: In a tragic incident, at least 121 people, including several women and children, lost their lives in a stampede during a religious congregation in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras district on July 2. The stampede unfolded shortly after religious preacher Saakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba, also known as Suraj Pal, addressed his followers at a tent set up in Rati Bhanpur village within the Sikandra Rau area.
Senior police officials, along with teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), swiftly arrived at the site to manage the aftermath. Scores of bodies were lying on blocks of ice inside a government hospital, as wailing relatives of the victims waited outside to take mortal remains back home.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh told news agency PTI that overcrowding was one of the reasons behind the stampede. A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed against the organizers of the event with the complaint mentioning overcrowding at the venue, and security lapse, thus calling for an investigation.
Singh said the application submitted by the event organizers seeking permission to hold the 'satsang' put the number of attendees at 80,000, but the actual number was much higher. A report said nearly 2.5 lakh people turned up for the event.
As the 'satsang' concluded, devotees ran behind the vehicle of Baba Narayan Hari to touch his feet. It was then when people slipped and fell over one another. Speaking to news agency ANI, Deputy Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar said the police were on the lookout for the godman.
Major stampedes in India# March 31, 2023: At least 36 people died when a slab on top of an ancient well collapsed during a 'havan' program held on the occasion of Ram Navami at a temple in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. |
