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Hathras stampede: The satsang of Saakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba in a huge pandal built on 150 bigha area on GT Road in UP proved inauspicious on Tuesday. After the satsang, devotees were stopped to let Bhole Baba's caravan pass, but the organizers could not control the crowd.
As soon as Baba's caravan reached the highway, the uncontrolled crowd started to stampede. Due to this, 116 devotees died and fell on each other in the fields on the other side of the highway, while more than two dozen were injured. There was mourning for hours after the accident.
An hour later, the administrative staff arrived and relief work was started. The death toll is expected to rise by late night. Despite such a huge crowd, no security arrangements were made by the administration.
Originally a resident of Patiyali in Kasganj, Saakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba handed over the Manav Mangal Milan Sadbhavana Sammelan to the Sikandrarao Committee Preparations were going on for 15 days in 150 bigha land. Preparations were going on for the last 15 days on 150 bighas of land in Fullerai village on the GT road, six kilometers away from the town. For this, devotees from many districts of the state as well as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand had started arriving two days in advance.
On Tuesday, the pandal was full from 8 am onwards. Bhole Baba arrived with his wife at 12 noon and the satsang started. The satsang ended at 1 pm and after that the aarti started.
This is the story of the stampede
At 1.30 pm, Baba's convoy left from there. For this, a road was built from the side of the stage to the highway. The organizers stopped the crowd at the entrance. Earlier, thousands of devotees were standing on the other side of the highway for darshan. As soon as Baba's convoy reached the entrance on the highway, the crowd gathered for darshan. After this, the situation went out of control.
Baba's caravan moved ahead and the crowd of devotees who had come climbed over the people standing on the side of the highway. Due to this, hundreds of devotees ran towards the fields. After this, people started falling on each other and started screaming. Baba's servants engaged in making arrangements pulled out the trapped people, but by then many people had stopped breathing.
Along with ADG and Chief Secretary, DGP also arrived
After getting information about the incident, departmental officials including ADG Anupam Kulshreshtha reached the spot and saw the status of relief work. Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh, DGP Prashant Kumar also reached the spot at night. The bodies have been sent to Hathras, Etah, Aligarh and Agra for postmortem. The injured are being treated there.
Police searched for the organizers, who were
Bhole Baba was to reach Mainpuri after the satsang, but he did not reach there. Police is also searching for the organizers. ADG Anupam Kulshreshtha said that 116 deaths have been confirmed so far. The organizer has been taken into custody. A case is being registered against him. A committee has been formed to investigate the incident.
President, Prime Minister expressed grief, CM Yogi will also reach Hathras on Wednesday
President Draupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have expressed condolences to the bereaved families of the deceased. On the instructions of the Chief Minister, Cabinet Minister Chaudhary Laxminarayan, MLC Rishipal Singh and other public representatives reached the spot. The Cabinet Minister said that financial assistance is being given to the affected families. The injured are being treated free of cost. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will arrive on Wednesday.
Negligence of administration regarding the event
Permission was taken from the administration by the organizers, but the administration issued the permission letter without informing the crowd. A crowd of more than one and a half lakh gathered on the highway, but a dozen policemen were deployed in the name of security. After this incident, an alert has been issued in all the district level hospitals of Aligarh division. AD Health Mohan Jha, who reached the spot, said that proper arrangements have been made for the treatment of the injured in all the district hospitals of Aligarh, Hathras, Kasganj and Etah districts.
Doctors and specialists who went on leave have been asked to remain posted in hospitals. At the same time, instructions have also been given to ensure postmortem arrangements in all four districts.
