New Delhi:

Bhole Baba aka Narayan Saakar Hari is likely to be arrested soon after more than 100 people died in a stampede at his ‘satsang’ (religious congregation) in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras on Tuesday. The self-styled godman, whose original name is Suraj Pal, is believed to be at his ‘ashram’ in Mainpuri, about 100 km from the Phulrai village, where he held the event attended by thousands of devotees.

Many senior police officials have reached the Hathras stampede site, while others are at his ashram, the Ram Kutir Charitable Trust. Besides police personnel, an NDTV team at the ashram also saw his devotees gathering in large numbers.

In Hathras, a forensic unit and a dog squad are at the stampede site. Teams of the Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are also present.

At least 121 people, including over 100 women and seven children, were killed in the Hathras stampede. The Uttar Pradesh government said most of the people who died in the stampede have been identified.

A compensation of Rs 2 lakh each has been announced for the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 for the injured.

President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed their condolences to the families of the victims.

How Hathras Stampede Happened

Officials said the place where the Hathras stampede happened was too small to accommodate the crowd that had gathered there on Tuesday afternoon. A woman who attended the ‘satsang’ said the stampede broke out as the crowd began to leave.

After the ‘satsang’, devotees rushed to touch the feet of the self-styled guru, causing a big crowd build-up in a small area, officials said.

Devotees had come to the ‘satsang’ from various districts of Uttar Pradesh as well as neighboring states.

A high-level committee has been formed to investigate the incident.

The panel will be headed by the Additional Director General of Police, Agra, and the Aligarh Commissioner, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said.

Case Against Hathras Satsang Organisers

A case has been filed against the ‘satsang organisers’ in Hathras, officials said.

According to the FIR, permission was granted for 80,000 people but more than 2.5 lakh devotees attended the event.

“Due to the uncontrollable crowd leaving the venue, devotees sitting on the ground were crushed. On the other side of the road, the crowd running in the water and mud-filled fields was forcibly stopped by the organizing committee with sticks, due to which the pressure of the crowd kept increasing and women, children, and men kept getting crushed,” the FIR said.

“The police and administrative officials present on the spot made every possible effort and sent the injured people to the hospital with the available resources. But no cooperation was given by the organizers,” the FIR added.

They have been charged under sections 105, 110, 126 (2), 223, and 238 of the new criminal code Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Godman Behind Hathras ‘Satsang’

Self-styled guru Narayan Saakar Hari has often claimed that he has worked with the Intelligence Bureau. He also told his devotees that he was inclined towards spirituality even when he was working and had resigned in the 1990s to pursue the spiritual path.

Born in Bahadur Nagari village in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah district to a farmer, Nanne Lal, and Katori Devi, he completed his initial studies in the village.

He was reportedly a head constable with the Local Intelligence Unit of the UP police. He left his police job in 1999 and then changed his name to Narayan Saakar Hari.

He claims he began working for the Intelligence Bureau after college and turned towards spirituality during his time there.

Hathras Stampede Helpline Numbers

The Uttar Pradesh government has launched two helpline numbers — 05722227041 and 05722227042 — after the Hathras stampede incident.

Lucknow:

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal from the Tata Sons to build a ‘museum of temples’ in Ayodhya at a cost of Rs 650 crore, officials said. Sharing details about the decision, Tourism Minister Jaivir Singh said the tourism department would provide the company land for the international-level museum on a 90-year lease for a token money of Re 1.

“Tata Sons had proposed the project through the central government, offering to build the museum at a cost of Rs 650 crore under its corporate social responsibility fund,” Mr Singh said at a press meet in Lucknow after the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The cabinet also okayed the company’s proposal for other development works in the temple town for additional Rs 100 crore, he added.

Tata Sons is the principal investment holding company and promoter of Tata companies.

Other proposals approved during the cabinet meeting included the launch of helicopter services in Lucknow, Prayagraj and Kapilvastu under the public-private partnership (PPP) model by building helipads, Mr Singh said.

The cabinet also cleared a proposal to develop dormant heritage buildings into tourist spots, the minister said.

Three such heritage buildings – Kothi Roshan Dulha in Lucknow, Barsana Jal Mahal in Mathura and Shukla Talab (pond) in Kanpur – were selected for development as tourist spots, he said. He added that researchers would be selected under the Mukhya Mantri tourism fellowship programme for the purpose.

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

Hardoi:

A man has been arrested for allegedly trying to rape his eight-year-old niece and then killing her when she started screaming in a village of this district, a senior police official said on Sunday.

Additional Superintendent of Police Martand Prakash Singh said that on June 19, the girl’s body was found covered with leaves in a sugarcane field in the Tariyawan police station area.

The victim’s father had lodged a case of murder against a youth of the same village, police said.

However, when police started the investigation, the role of the girl’s uncle was found suspicious, Prakash Singh said, adding that the uncle confessed to the crime during questioning.

The minor’s uncle told police that at the time of the incident, he was drunk and finding the girl alone, he tried to rape her. When the girl started screaming, he strangled her, the additional SP said.

Prakash Singh said that the accused has been arrested and sent to jail by a local court.

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

Ghaziabad:

A 55-year-old property dealer was allegedly shot dead by his nephew and his accomplices here, policed said on Sunday.

The victims nephew is on the run while his family members have been arrested, they added.

According to the police, the incident took place in the Loni Border police station area on Saturday night when the group of persons allegedly opened fire on Vikram Mavi in which he suffered bullet injuries in his stomach and chest.

Mavi was rushed to GTB hospital in Delhi where the doctors declared him dead, they said.

The victim’s son Sagar Mavi lodged an FIR against 17 persons, including the main accused Pawan Bhati, Deputy Commissioner of Police Vivek Chandra Yadav said.

Bhati is the nephew of Vikram Mavi, Yadav said.

Both the property dealer and his nephew had previous criminal history and were booked in five cases each.

Sagar in his FIR stated that on May 5, Bhati, along with other family members, had allegedly attacked Vikram with sharp-edged weapons.

“Last night my father and I were going back home around 9 pm from our office in Prem Nagar colony to Teela Shahbajpur village in Loni Border area when Bhati along with accomplices attacked us, during which I suffered injury. I somehow escaped and my father was attacked with sharp-edged weapons and was shot four times.” The police have arrested Bhati’s father, mother and wife and one other man who was involved in the killing, DCP Yadav said, adding that police teams are trying to nab the main offender and other accused.

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

New Delhi:

Hours after a woman died by suicide in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, her family allegedly set her husband’s house on fire, killing her parents-in-law, the police said on Tuesday. 

Three more people, including the woman’s husband, were injured in the fire, they said.

The woman, Anshika Kesarwani, was found hanging at her in-laws’ house on Monday night. The 27-year-old had married in February last year.

As soon as news of Anshika’s death emerged, her parents and other family members allegedly rushed to her in-laws’ house and accused them of harassing the young woman for dowry and driving her to suicide.

As the fight escalated, Anshika’s relatives allegedly set the house on fire. Both her mother-in-law and father-in-law were found dead after the blaze was put out.

Prayagraj City Deputy Commissioner of Police Deepak Bhuker said that they had received a call at 11 pm that a woman had died by suicide.

“When the police team reached the spot, people from both sides were fighting. During the argument, the in-laws’ house was set on fire by the woman’s maternal side. Police immediately rescued five people and informed the fire brigade,” he said.

As the firefighters put out the fire around 3 am, the entire house was searched, and two bodies were recovered, Mr Bhuker said.

दिनांक 18/19.03.2024 को थाना मुठ्ठीगंज क्षेत्रांतर्गत घटित घटना के संबंध में पुलिस उपायुक्त नगर @deepakbhuker द्वारा दी गयी बाइट- pic.twitter.com/0FOP11kDwe

— DCP CITY PRAYAGRAJ (@DCPCityPrj) March 19, 2024

They were identified as Rajendra Kesarwani, the girl’s father-in-law, and Shobha Devi, the girl’s mother-in-law, the officer said.

Those who were injured in the fire were the woman’s husband, Rajendra’s daughter Shivani, and Lovely Kesarwani, the wife of his younger brother, the police said.

Azamgarh (UP):

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of several development projects worth more than Rs 34,700 crore across the state. He was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other BJP leaders as he visited the Manduri area of the district.

PM Modi inaugurated Azamgarh, Shravasti, Chitrakoot, and Aligarh airports and a new terminal of Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, Lucknow.

He also inaugurated Maharaja Suhel Dev State University, Azamgarh, constructed at a cost of 108 crore.

He inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of five major National Highway projects worth Rs 11,500 crore.

पीएम श्री @narendramodi द्वारा आजमगढ़ में विभिन्न विकास परियोजनाओं का शिलान्यास एवं लोकार्पण। https://t.co/adi2H3oZvB

— BJP (@BJP4India) March 10, 2024

More than 5,342 km of roads built in 59 UP districts under the PM Gram Sadak Yojna worth Rs 3,700 crore were also inaugurated by him.

PM Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 12 railway projects across UP worth Rs 8,200 crore.

He also inaugurated three sewage projects built under Namami Ganga Yojna worth Rs 1,114 crore in Prayagraj, Etawah, and Jaunpur districts of the state.

The prime minister is also slated to inaugurate the Light House Project (LHP) in Lucknow under which more than 1,040 affordable flats have been built with modern infrastructure.

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

Kaushambi:

Three people, including a seven-year-old girl, died and six were injured when their speeding car collided with a stationary truck on Tuesday, police said.

Circle Officer (CO), Sirathu, Awadhesh Kumar Vishwakarma said the occupants of the car were returning after attending a wedding when their driver fell asleep and crashed the vehicle into the truck parked on the roadside near the Kasiya village under the Kokhraj police station area.

The injured passengers were taken to the district hospital, where three of them — Divyanshi (7), Harendra Sharma (55) and Rajkumar (45) — were declared dead, the CO said.

Of the six injured, four were seriously wounded and admitted to a hospital in Prayagraj, Mr Vishwakarma said.

He said a case has been registered in the matter.

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

Lucknow:

Not content with being arrested for thrashing a policeman, two men from Uttar Pradesh decided to take things up a notch and fired at three police personnel after snatching their rifles while being taken for a medical check-up. A sub-inspector and two constables were injured and the two men were also shot in the leg.

After a child was run over by a speeding bus in Mahoba, about 260 km from Lucknow, on Monday, a policeman who was part of a team which had gone to disperse an angry crowd and ease a traffic jam had been beaten up by some people. The other members of the team had fled. The police had later registered a case and made five arrests. 

When they were being taken to a hospital for a medical check-up on Tuesday, the accused and the police personnel, from Panwari police station in Mahoba, stopped for a washroom break. This was when two of the five accused – 45-year-old Parshuram and 22-year-old Monu – snatched the rifles of two of the police personnel and opened fire. 

Sub-inspector Surendra and constables Ankit Singh and Mithun were injured and the two men were shot in their legs when the police personnel returned fire. All five have been admitted to a hospital.

Mahoba Superintendent of Police Aparna Gupta said, “A case had been registered against five people for misbehaving with, and beating up, a policeman on Monday. The sub-inspector was trying to ease a traffic jam when he was beaten up. They were being taken for a medical check-up when they snatched the rifles of some police personnel and opened fire. A sub-inspector and two constables have suffered minor injuries.”