New Delhi:

The district official – a sub divisional magistrate – who permitted ‘godman’ Bhole Baba’s ‘prayer meet’ in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, at which a stampede killed 121 people – never inspected the venue, a team investigating the tragedy said in a report submitted to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The SIT report also said the event organisers and local administration, including the police, were negligent and held them responsible, stating they “failed to make adequate arrangements” for so large a crowd. Neither local officials nor the cops took the event “seriously”, the report said.

That the organisers – who have been held “primarily responsible” involved, or hired, individuals without police verification has been held up as an example of that negligence.

And, in a lapse of protocol, local police did not inform, as soon as they should have, their seniors of the stampede and the deaths, the report said. The probe team also echoed the Chief Minister in suggesting a “conspiracy” behind the tragedy, and has recommended a more detailed investigation.

The report is based on statements from 125 people – from eyewitnesses and survivors to police and district officials. In addition, news reports and photographs and video footage were also examined.

New Delhi:

The Hathras incident that claimed the lives of 121 followers at a satsang, or religious gathering, of a self-styled godman last week, has reached the Supreme Court over a demand for a probe led by a retired top court judge.

Supreme Court lawyer Vishal Tiwari has filed a petition demanding that the stampede tragedy be probed by a five-member expert committee under the supervision of a retired top court judge.

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has ordered the listing of the petition. The Supreme Court registry has scheduled the hearing on Friday.

The petitioner also demanded that the Uttar Pradesh government submit a status report on the incident and take legal action against those – including officials – found responsible. The petition urged the Supreme Court to frame the required guidelines.

A Special Investigative Team (SIT) probing the incident has blamed overcrowding as the main reason behind the stampede at the satsang of ‘Bhole Baba’, whose real name is Suraj Pal Singh.

The SIT, comprising Additional Director General of Police (Agra Zone) Anupam Kulshrestha and Aligarh Divisional Commissioner Chaitra V, submitted its report to the Yogi Adityanath government today.

While details are awaited, some reports claim that the SIT has said the self-styled godman and his aides could have prevented the tragedy.

According to the FIR registered in connection with the incident, the ‘satsang’ organisers had sought permission for a gathering of 80,000 people, but over 2.5 lakh followers turned up.

Reports suggest the stampede began when the ‘godman’ was leaving and his followers rushed to collect the dust stirred by his car’s tyres, thinking of it as his blessings. The godman’s private security guards started pushing his followers and in the chaos, people slipped and were trampled in the open field, according to the subdivisional magistrate’s report.

Cops have arrested nine people, including main organizer Devprakash Madhukar, so far while Bhole Baba has not been named as an accused yet.

Lucknow:

Overcrowding was the main reason behind the stampede at a ‘satsang’ in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras that claimed 121 lives, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has said in its report to the Yogi Adityanath government.

The report, prepared by Additional Director General of Police (Agra) Anupam Kulshreshtha and Aligarh Divisional Commissioner Chaitra V, has statements by 128 witnesses, including the cops on duty at the satsang of Narayan Sakar Hari, popularly called ‘Bhole Baba’. The report has been submitted to the state Home Department and Chief Minister Adityanath is likely to have a look at it today.

While details are awaited, some reports claim that the SIT has said the self-styled godman and his aides could have prevented the tragedy.  

Earlier, the FIR registered in connection with the ‘satsang’ had said that the organisers of the ‘satsang’ sought permission for a gathering of 80,000-odd people, but a crowd of 2.5 lakh turned up. A total of nine people, including main organiser of the July 2 event, Devprakash Madhukar, have been arrested.

The self-styled godman, Narayan Sakar Hari, has not been named an accused in the FIR and has been on the run since the stampede took place. His lawyer AP Singh has put out a statement, saying that the preacher is ready to cooperate with the investigators. Thereafter, the lawyer also pointed to a conspiracy and claimed that unidentified men had sprayed poison at the event, triggering the stampede.

Senior police officer Anupam Kulshreshtha told news agency PTI last week that they have not ruled out the conspiracy angle, even though evidence gathered so far suggest culpability on the part of the organisers.

The stampede, according to reports, began when the ‘godman’ was leaving and his followers rushed to collect dust stirred up by his car’s tyres. According to the subdivisional magistrate’s report, the godman’s private security guards started pushing his followers and some people fell and were trampled. In the chaos, many others fled towards the open field and slipped, and others ran over them.

In the aftermath of the incident, Chief Minister Adityanath had assured strict action, while not ruling out a conspiracy.

“If this is not an accident, then whose conspiracy is this? All of these will be probed,” he had said. Besides the SIT, a judicial panel headed by a retired high court judge is investigating the stampede.

New Delhi:

Days after 121 people were killed due to a stampede at a religious gathering in Hathras, advocate AP Singh has claimed that the incident that took the lives of 121 people, mostly women and children occurred because unidentified men sprayed poison during the event.

Singh claimed that the group of conspirators fled the venue after causing the stampede.

“Unidentified men were carrying poisonous sprays…They ran while spraying the poisonous spray and it looked as a part of a pre-planned conspiracy…Many people lost their consciousness…I urge the Special Investigation Team to investigate who all are behind this incident,” Advocate AP Singh told ANI on Saturday.

At least 121 devotees lost their lives in a stampede at a religious ‘Satsang’ event of self-styled godman Suraj Pal, alias ‘Bhole Baba’, in Fulari village, Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, on July 2.

Meanwhile, Devprakash Madhukar, the main accused in the Hathras stampede incident, was sent to 14 days of judicial custody after being produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Saturday. The court inquired if he had written permission for the event and from whom it was obtained. Madhukar replied that he received permission from the SDM for a gathering of 80,000 people. When asked if the event was publicised, Madhukar denied doing so.

Notably, Devprakash Madhukar had been absconding, and a reward of Rs 1 lakh was announced for information leading to his arrest. He was finally apprehended on July 5 in the national capital. Additionally, two other accused, Ramprakash Shakya and Sanju Yadav, were also arrested, according to the police.

Earlier on Saturday, self-styled godman Suraj Pal Singh or “Bhole Baba,” broke his silence in connection with the Hathras stampede in which 121 people, mostly women and children, died, stating that “those who created the chaos will not be spared.”

In a video statement, Suraj Pal, who also goes by the name of Narayan Sakar Hari expressed his grief and condoled the deaths at the tragedy that took place earlier this week during a ‘Satsang’ in Fulari village in Hathras district.

“I am deeply saddened by the incident of July 2. May God give us the strength to bear this pain. Please keep faith in the government and the administration. I have faith that those who created the chaos will not be spared. 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,” the ‘Baba’ said.

The stampede occurred during the ‘Satsang’ of self-styled godman Suraj Pal Singh, known as ‘Bhole Baba’, in Fulari village, Hathras.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Lucknow:

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has written a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath regarding the Hathras stampede incident.

Mr Gandhi explained the problems of the victims’ families in his letter and urged the Chief Minister to increase the compensation amount and provide it to the victims’ families as soon as possible.

The Congress leader posted the letter dated July 6 on social media platform X on Sunday.

Talking about his visit to Aligarh and Hathras on Friday where he interacted with the bereaved families, Mr Gandhi wrote that no amount of compensation can be enough for the loss suffered by families.

He further said that an impartial probe would help identify the lapses by the district administration in the tragic incident that claimed the lives of 121 people. “This will help in preventing the recurrence of such incidents in future and the guilty need to be punished,” he wrote.

He further wrote that the Congress workers and he was prepared to extend any help that may be required.

On Friday, Mr Gandhi met the victims’ families in Hathras and inquired about the incident and the help they had received. He had assured them that he would take up their problems at the right forum and also help them in every possible way.

He later visited Hathras and met the injured and those who had lost their family members in the stampede.

He told reporters, “There have been some lapses on the part of the administration which led to a tragedy of this magnitude. When permission was for 80,000 people, then how did so many people reach there? Action should be taken against whoever is guilty.”

The stampede took place on Tuesday evening (July 2) at a Satsang of a self-styled godman, Suraj Pal who also goes by the names of Narayan Sakar Hari and ‘Bhole Baba’.

An FIR was registered in the incident naming the organizers of the event and the main accused — the manager Dev Prakash Madhukar– was arrested on Friday night. The police also arrested six persons, known as sewadars, who were supporters of the preachers and were managing the event.

Uttar Pradesh Police conducted a search operation at Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri. Later, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mainpuri Sunil Kumar said that ‘Bhole Baba’ was not found inside his ashram. Superintendent of Hathras City, Rahul Mithas also said that they did not find him in the ashram.

On Wednesday, Yogi Adityanath visited the site of the tragedy and ordered a judicial probe into the incident.

A three-member Judicial Inquiry Commission under the chairmanship of Justice (retd) Brijesh Kumar Srivastava has been constituted to ensure comprehensiveness of the subject matter and transparency in the inquiry. The team visited Hathras on Saturday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Just a pat on the back by preacher “Bhole Baba” and Ramkumari said a stone in her kidney vanished. The 85-year-old gave no proof but this story and countless others of similar “miracles” led to Baba’s following rocketing in India’s northern states.

A gathering addressed by the former police head constable in a crowded field last week drew a quarter of a million people and caused one of the deadliest stampedes in the country.

Bhole Baba was born Suraj Pal Singh Jatav. He quit the police in 2000 to join a series of Hindu preachers and gurus who are sought by millions for miracle cures and spiritual advice. They are often called godmen, and many have been wooed by politicians for the influence they wield.

Their patrons have included international celebrities like the Beatles, who spent days in the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the late 1960s. Some of these gurus expanded beyond India, most famously Osho, who lived and preached in the United States in the early 1980s.

Almost all of them are credited by their followers with miraculous powers.

“I had gone to one of his early gatherings and told him I had chronic pain from a kidney stone for many months,” said Ramkumari, Baba’s former neighbour in Bahadurnagar village in India’s Uttar Pradesh state, where he was born and still has a home.

The village has only about 50 homes in all and is set amid fields which grow corn, wheat and rice. On the periphery is a sprawling, pearly-white ashram run by devotees of Baba.

“He smiled and blessed me with a pat on the back. The stone vanished soon after,” said Ramkumari, who gave just one name.

Another resident in the village, 55-year-old Surajmukhi, said Baba’s blessing helped her give birth to a son after seven daughters. Sons are sought after in many Indian families.

“We desperately wanted a boy,” said Surajmukhi. “Then I met Baba with my husband. He made me chant some mantras (verses), gave me some water to drink and patted me on my back. After nine months I had a baby boy.”

Lying on a cot next to her, Baba’s older sister Sonkali, thin and frail, said: “It was a miracle”.

Baba, formally known as Narayan Sakar Hari now, is estimated to be about 72 by his family and followers, who are spread across India’s heartland states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.

LINE TO GOD

Two neighbours who have known him since his childhood, including Ramkumari, said he took the path after a dream one night about 25 years ago that a divine spirit had given him supernatural powers. He quit the police in the city of Agra and started preaching, they said.

Baba would later claim he had a direct line to God and could channel divine blessings to people.

“Soon after we saw a line of cars bringing Suraj Pal into the village and people said he would henceforth be called a Baba (elder),” Ramkumari said.

Reuters could not contact Baba. He told Reuters partner ANI that he was grieving and his aides would help the injured and the families of those who died.

The stampede at his gathering on Tuesday killed 121 people, mostly women, and injured scores out of about 250,000 who had congregated in a canopied paddy field to listen to him, many trampling over one another as they ran after his car when he was leaving.

Police say authorities had allowed only 80,000 to attend, and have arrested six aides to Baba who were involved in organising the event. The main organiser surrendered to police on Friday.

Police said that in the initial days of his rise to fame, Baba had claimed that he could bring the dead back to life and even tried to take away the body of a 16-year-old girl from a crematorium promising a miracle to the family. Police intervened and the matter was closed soon after.

Posters and videos posted on YouTube show him dressed in traditional Indian kurta tunics or pristine white suits and ties, often sporting sunglasses, a departure from the spartan image of most godmen.

Still, his clout is smaller than other gurus and godmen in India, including Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Sadhguru. Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, runs the Patanjali consumer goods brand that has boomed in recent years.

Two godmen, Asaram Bapu and Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, were both convicted of rape in separate cases and jailed, after years of drawing thousands of devotees to their sermons and ashrams.

GIVE PEOPLE HOPE

Sociologists say such gurus are often believed to possess healing powers, and are especially popular among those who are poor, sick or feel underprivileged.

“People are insecure – economically, socially and otherwise,” said Dipti Ranjan Sahu, head of sociology at the University of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.

“Unemployment, deprivation, discrimination, ignorance, illiteracy – these things play a part. So they see hope in the godmen, maybe some miracle will happen.”

Surinder Singh Jodhka, who teaches social sciences at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University and has researched on the subject, said “people are kind of looking for some meaning in their life” and that’s where godmen come in.

“People are feeling lost and they are looking for some sense through which they can identify with other people, they feel less lonely,” he said. “This gives them hope and they are willing to believe in it.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Hathras:

121 families have still been reeling under the impact of the stampede in Hathras on Tuesday where their loved ones died. But all of them have united in two demands – a swift probe, and action against Bhole Baba aka Suraj Pal Singh who organised the ‘satsang’ where the stampede occurred. After arresting several accused in the case, police have uncovered that Bhole Baba’s organisation had been getting funding from several political parties.

Hathras Superintendent of Police, Nipun Agarwal, today revealed that the main accused Devprakash Madhukar had recently been in contact with several political parties. This has prompted investigations into potential political conspiracies surrounding the incident. Madhukar was known to manage fundraising activities for events organized by the self-styled godman.

Mr Agarwal emphasized that financial transactions, money trails, and call records associated with Madhukar are currently under scrutiny. The police are also planning to seek his remand for further questioning.

An initial probe into the stampede had revealed that the godman had received permission to host an event for 80,000 people, but 2.5 lakh people were allowed to enter the venue. After the gathering, when the ‘godman’ was leaving, there was a rush among his followers to collect dust stirred up by his car’s tyres. According to officials, the godman’s private security guards started pushing his followers and some people fell and were trampled. In the chaos, many others fled towards the open field and slipped, and others ran over them. Many of those killed in the stampede were women and children.

According to eyewitnesses, only about 40 police personnel were on duty to ensure safety at this massive gathering and they were overwhelmed when the stampede broke out.

Madhukar was the ‘mukhya sevadar’ (chief of security) of the ‘satsang’ where the stampede occurred. He is the only accused named in the FIR lodged at Sikandra Rao police station in Hathras in connection with the incident, and Suraj Pal Singh hasn’t been named.

Initially, Madhukar’s lawyer, AP Singh, had asserted that his client had voluntarily surrendered to the Delhi police for medical treatment. However, Hathras police said they arrested Madhukar through technical surveillance, offering a reward of one lakh rupees for information leading to his arrest.

On Saturday afternoon, amidst tight security arrangements, Madhukar was brought to the Bagla Combined District Hospital in Hathras for a medical examination. He appeared with his face covered by a handkerchief and a stole wrapped around his head.

A three-member judicial commission team has arrived in Hathras to investigate administrative lapses that may have contributed to the tragedy. Statements from multiple officials have been recorded, and the team visited the site of the incident to gather further evidence.

Authorities plan to delve deeper into Madhukar’s association with Bhole Baba’s trust, scrutinizing funding sources and bank accounts. They intend to collaborate with other agencies to probe potential political links to the case. Should it be deemed necessary, a summons may also be issued to Bhole Baba for questioning.

“We are conducting a thorough investigation into Madhukar’s background and his role in the incident,” stated SP Nipun Agarwal.

“If any political is found to be associated with (Bhole Baba’s) organisation, we will take action against them,” he added.

Asked if the self-styled godman may be arrested, state police chief Prashant Kumar said, “Right now, everything is a matter of investigation. We do not want to influence the investigation by drawing any immediate conclusion. The ambit of the investigation is open. Action will be taken based on the facts that come to light during the investigation.”

Lucknow:

Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BSP chief Mayawati on Saturday demanded strict action against Suraj Pal Singh, the self-styled godman who is worshipped by his followers as ‘Bhole Baba’, in the Hathras stampede tragedy that claimed 121 lives.

The BSP chief also advised the poor, Dalits, and the oppressed in the country not to get misled by the superstition and hypocrisy of “babas”.

“The poor, Dalits, and the oppressed in the country should not increase their pain and suffer by getting misled by the superstition and hypocrisy of many Babas like Bhole Baba of Hathras to get rid of their poverty and all other problems, this is the advice,” she posted on X.

“Rather, by following the path shown by Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, they will have to change their own destiny by taking power into their own hands, that is, they will have to join their own party BSP, only then they can avoid incidents like Hathras in which 121 people died, which is very worrying,” Mayawati added.

She further said that the government should not be lax in such situations and take strict action against the guilty.

“In the Hathras case, strict action should be taken against Baba Bhole and others who are guilty. Action should be taken against other such Babas as well. In this case, the government should not be lax in its political interests so that no more people have to lose their lives,” the BSF chief wrote on X.

Meanwhile, the self-styled godman broke his silence on Saturday in connection with the Hathras stampede in which 121 people, mostly women and children, died, stating that “those who created the chaos will not be spared.”

In a video statement, Suraj Pal – who also goes by the name Narayan Sakar Hari – expressed his grief and condoled the deaths at the tragedy that took place earlier this week during a ‘Satsang’ in Fulari village in Hathras district.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

After 121 people were killed in a deadly stampede at his ‘satsang’ in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras earlier this week, Bhole Baba, the former constable-turned-self-styled godman, has said that he was “deeply saddened” by the incident. 

“May God give us the strength to bear this pain. Please keep faith in the government and the administration. I have faith that anyone who created the chaos would not be spared. 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,” said ‘Bhole Baba’ in a video statement. 

#WATCH | Hathras Stampede Accident | Mainpuri, UP: In a video statement, Surajpal also known as ‘Bhole Baba’ says, “… I am deeply saddened after the incident of July 2. May God give us the strength to bear this pain. Please keep faith in the government and the administration. I… pic.twitter.com/7HSrK2WNEM

— ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2024

The Stampede

The ‘satsang’ attracted as many as 2.5 lakh devotees. The stampede began when attendees “started collecting dust” from the ground where Bhole Baba’s car had passed. This chaotic scene led to men, women, and children falling over each other, resulting in several deaths. The gathering far exceeded the 80,000-person limit set by authorities, police said.

Bhole Baba, also known as Narayan Sakar Hari, had been elusive since the stampede. His lawyer, AP Singh, had said yesterday that he will cooperate with the investigation. “We have district-wise lists of the victims, and Narayan Sakar Hari’s trust would take care of the education, health, and wedding expenses of the families of those who died in the stampede,” Mr Singh said.

Main Accused Arrested

Devprakash Madhukar, the ‘mukhya sevadar’ of the ‘satsang’, has been arrested in Delhi, Hathras Police has said. With Madhukhar’s arrest, the total number of arrests in the case now stands at seven.

However, Mr Singh, who also represents Madhukar, has claimed that his client had surrendered, not arrested. “Today, we have surrendered Devprakash Madhukar, who was named the main organiser in the FIR in the Hathras case, after notifying the police, the SIT, and the STF in Delhi since he was undergoing treatment here,” Mr Singh stated in a video message. 

“We had promised we would not apply for anticipatory bail since we did no wrong. What is our crime? He is an engineer and a heart patient. Doctors said his condition is stable now, and so we surrendered today to join the probe,” Mr Singh added.

An FIR was registered against Madhukar by UP Police in Hathras, making him the prime accused in connection with the stampede. The police had even announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to his arrest. Six others, including two women volunteers who were part of the organising committee of the ‘satsang’, were arrested.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was briefed on the initial Special Investigation Team (SIT) report on the stampede. This confidential report, submitted by the Additional Director General (ADG) of Police, Agra Zone, Anupam Kulshrestha, contains testimonies from key officials, including Hathras District Magistrate Ashish Kumar and Superintendent of Police Nipun Aggarwal. The FIR was registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The three-member SIT has recorded statements from 90 individuals so far. The state government has also established a three-member judicial commission headed by a retired high court judge.

It is July 3, the day after 121 people, most of them women, were killed during a stampede at a satsang (religious gathering) of a ‘godman’, Suraj Pal alias Narayan Sakar Hari, in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. At two grounds, which are equidistant from reserve police lines, contrasting scenes play out.

At the first ground, excited men and children gather to catch a glimpse of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. He has just flown down in a blue helicopter to inspect the administrative scramble following the stampede that drew both condolences and criticism from across the world.

At the second ground, the mood dramatically shifts. Grieving men and children congregate to bury Bhumi, 10, wrapped in a piece of blue cloth.

At both places, videos are shot. They will be uploaded later on social media.

Editorial | Avoidable tragedy: On the Hathras stampede 

As relatives start lowering Bhumi’s body into the grave, dug about 3 feet deep, Vinod Kumar uncovers her face and stares at his daughter for the last time. As the body underwent an autopsy, the chest has been stitched up. Bhumi had suffered injuries to her head in the stampede. Before she is laid to rest, Vinod removes an absorbent sheet from behind her neck, placed there the previous day to stop the bleeding.

“Kitni chot aai hogi meri bitiya ko. Kitna dard hua hoga. Wo chillai bhi hogi. Koi bachane nahi aaya use (My daughter must have been injured badly. She must have been in so much pain. She must have even screamed. No one came to save her),” says Vinod.

His older brother, Rajveer, stands by his side impatiently. In Sokhna village, just 1 kilometre away, the brothers need to perform two cremations after the girl’s burial: one for Vinod’s wife, Rajkumari, and the other for their mother, Jaimanti. Rajveer asks his brother to hurry up.

It was Jaimanti’s wish to attend the satsang. She had persuaded her daughter-in-law and granddaughter to come along to listen to Bhole Baba, a term of endearment for the guru; it was their first time at the satsang.

Kalicharan, Vinod’s brother-in-law, explains how the stampede took place. “The frenzied crowd rushed to collect charan raj (soil from under the feet of the ‘godman’), but Bhole Baba left them to die. Forget taking responsibility for the incident, he did not even return to apologise,” he says. “In this family alone, three women from three generations have died in the tragedy.”

Horror at Hathras

The open field in Phulrai village, located parallel to a bypass in Hathras, is partially submerged in water after heavy rains. Workers remove the poles that were erected to place a gigantic tent for the satsang. A few boys throw stones at a giant poster of Pal, placed on a temporary entrance gate. Villagers and passers-by holding umbrellas explain to journalists the ghastly scenes they had witnessed on the afternoon of July 2.

“I left my grocery shop open as the news of the stampede broke. I cannot sleep peacefully for years after seeing what I did. The bodies of tens of saree-clad women, soaked in mud, were lying on top of the other on the roadside. Slippers and bags lay scattered everywhere. There were calls for help from all directions. I stood helpless for minutes just watching the horror,” says Ram Gopal, a resident of Phulrai village, pointing towards the field on the other side of the highway. It has been sealed by the forensic team which had come to collect evidence of the crime.

Pushpendra Yadav, a resident who also saw the tragedy unfold, says no one will ever know the real death toll. “Buses and lorries carried away bodies. People also piled bodies into autos, placed them on bikes, and carried them on their shoulders,” he recalls. This is also why estimating the number of injured is difficult.

Soon after the incident, videos of bodies flooding hospitals emerged on social media. In them, relatives screamed about mismanagement and the unavailability of doctors and treatment.

“The police and ambulances came late. It would have been better if we had proper police arrangements in place considering the fact that the satsang organisers had already obtained permission for 80,000 people,” says Vinod.

The Inspector General of Police, Aligarh range, Shalabh Mathur, refutes these claims. “There was adequate police force at the site, including traffic police,” he contends.

Rekha Devi, 55, who got injured in the melee, was admitted in ward number 6 of the district hospital in Hathras. “I fell when someone pushed me,” she recalls. “People ran over my hands and chest, and I lost consciousness. I woke up in hospital. I will never visit a satsang again.”

Another woman, Pushpa, who also fell in the stampede but managed to escape unhurt, feels that Rekha’s decision is unjust and blaming Pal is unfair. She says Pal was dull that afternoon and finished preaching in 30 minutes.

Hathras stampede |No police action against godman

“He had already announced that the crowd was too big at the venue and had asked his volunteers to ensure that people leave smoothly. He also asked men and women to leave from different gates. As he got into his car, all of us ran out of the venue to get a closer glimpse of him. Many people knelt down and began collecting mud from the path on which he had walked. The volunteers tried to control the crowd and asked followers to go to the other side of the highway, which had a swamp and a pit dug ahead of it. When people ran, they fell into that pit one on top of the other and died.”

At a press conference, Chief Minister Adityanath announced a judicial probe and indicated that if it was a “conspiracy”, those behind it would be punished.

The police have arrested seven people so far, all volunteers of the ‘godman’. Pal is absconding. He has issued a letter claiming that he condoles the deaths but had no role to play in the incident.

The administration conducted the postmortem of all the bodies within 24 hours of the stampede, handed them over to the relatives, and removed slippers from the sides of the highway. There is no trace of a stampede having taken place. But several people remain missing.

Urmila Devi’s 16-year-old granddaughter, Khubshoo, is one of them. “She has been missing since the satsang. I have already searched for her in Aligarh (about 30 km away), at the Sikandararau community health centres (about 30 km away), and even in Kasganj (more than 60 km away), but to no avail,” says Urmila, 70, holding an orange bag in her hand with a set of clothes and some money. She cannot call people at home in Etah, more than 65 km away, as Khubshoo had her phone. She refuses to go back until she finds her granddaughter.

Vinod found the bodies of the three women of his family in the mortuaries of three different districts. Bhumi’s body was in Aligarh, Rajkumari’s was in Hathras, and Jaimanti’s was in Agra.

From policeman to ‘godman’

Pal, 65, the son of a farmer, hails from the Jatav community, one of the largest Scheduled Castes in Uttar Pradesh, and is a resident of Bahadur Nagar village in Kasganj district. He spent several years of his life as a policeman. After opting for voluntary retirement in the late 1990s, Pal returned to his village to rebrand himself as a religious preacher. He claimed that he had a personal encounter with god and was ‘anointed’ with supernatural powers. Unlike other ‘godmen’, Pal wore pants or shorts instead of robes. He took his wife, Premvati, to his satsangs where he spoke about the importance of shunning the practice of untouchability; maintaining love, unity, and harmony in society; helping the poor; and following the laws of the land.

Hathras stampede |Bodies of victims lay on floor, loud wails pierce the air

Within his first decade as ‘Baba’, Pal managed to build assets worth millions. He has swanky ashrams spread across acres of land in several cities of the State, including Mainpuri, Kasganj, and Kanpur. Luxury cars are part of his convoy. The ‘Baba’ loves branded goggles.

Pal’s followers, who are mostly from the so-called lower castes and poor socio-economic backgrounds and face various kinds of discrimination, claim that they have seen the sudarshan chakra (a divine discus worn by the Hindu god Vishnu) in Pal’s hands. They also say that he has a halo around his head, “just like gods”.

Hathras stampede |Amid the dead, search on for the living

Many people blame not just the police and organisers, but also the followers for the stampede. They wonder why the followers gathered in such large numbers just to hear a ‘godman’ preach about issues that are already known to them.

“When Dalits and others face all kinds of discrimination in society, such ‘Babas’ shower them with love. So, people automatically become their followers,” explains Sanjay Nirmal from Naglaheera locality in Hathras. Nirmal used to visit Pal’s satsangs after some persuasion from his wife. He says he gave up drinking after that.

A life of struggle with no solace

There is an unbearable stench in Sokhna as the drains are overflowing. Some of the homes in this village have small rooms that have space for nothing more than a cot. A few toilets are covered with curtains and have no taps. Residents say the water supply is irregular. They say the men are unlettered and work as labourers, masons, painters, and hawkers. Most families speak of their struggles to make ends meet. It is the middle of the week, but children are not at school. Residents say most of the women who flocked to Pal’s satsangs have alcoholic and violent husbands.

The conditions in the Nabipur Kalan area of Hathras, which is 5 km from Sokhna, is no different. Two people from Nabipur died in the stampede: Asha Devi, 62, and Munni Devi, 58.

“Asha’s elder son, Harikant, used to treat her badly. Her younger son was not able to get a job. She started following Bhole Baba when she heard that he could solve all her problems,” says Pushpa Devi, Asha’s sister. Asha had a small poster of Pal in her room.

Harikant merely says he is expecting guests.

“This is the importance that women are given in our homes. Even when they die, the family gets over the grief so quickly,” says Anjali, Asha Devi’s neighbour. “We are all poor people. The men here find solace in alcohol, while women search for peace at these satsangs,” she adds.

Munni Devi used to visit Pal so that her younger son, Jugnu, would quit drinking, say residents. Jugnu continues to drink after her death.

At Sokhna, Savita Jatav, who lives 300 metres from Vinod’s house, feels “blessed” that she refused to visit the satsang even though many women in her village tried to persuade her. But Savita has her own problems. “My husband drinks regularly and beats me up. We have been married for 14 years; we have no children,” she says.

One day, she met a ‘sister’, who asked her to go to Church. Savita followed her advice. Since then, her husband’s behaviour has changed remarkably, she claims. “Is Baba se acche to humare church wale hain. Waha bhagdad to nahi machti,” (“Our church people are better than this Baba. There is no stampede there),” says Savita, who has a a portrait of Jesus Christ on the main door of her house. In this village, most homes have portraits of Hindu gods at the entrance.

There are also big blue posters everywhere. These have been put up by small organisations which claim to preach Buddhism and the ideas of B.R. Ambedkar. The posters say the groups will conduct marriages and take care of naming ceremonies for those who follow them.

As Vinod prepares to cremate his wife and mother, who lie on a a wooden stretcher, relatives and neighbours start gathering around the bodies. Each of them begins a ritual which involves offering a piece of cloth to the dead.

Jaimanti’s neighbour, Vineeta Devi, makes an offering, too. Within minutes, Jaimanti’s body is covered with more than 25 sarees. Vineeta Devi observes this with regret: “In life, she had only two or three sarees.”