Hundreds of devotees are sitting in a huge ground, some of them fanning themselves with handheld fans, with motorcycles too parked nearby, shows a drone video from Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, capturing the packed crowd before the stampede that killed 121.
The devotees had turned up for a satsang or prayer meet and to see Bhole Baba, former police constable-turned-preacher, on Tuesday in Hathras, some 200 km from national capital Delhi.
A police report says more than 250,000 people attended the prayer meet despite permission being given for only 80,000.
Pitched blue tents and a sea of people swarmed the area, showed the drone video.
As the godman was leaving the venue, say reports, his followers started running towards him for a ‘darshan’ and collect soil from around his feet.
The situation worsened when more people waiting on the divider of the road ahead began running towards his vehicle.
The godman’s personal security personnel started pushing and shoving to stop the crowd.
It had been raining heavily in the days leading up to the satsang, causing people to slip and fall in the wet muddy fields.
