BREAKING: 2 More Arrested in Hathras Stampede Case, Total Reaches 11

Hathras: The Uttar Pradesh police, probing the Hathras stampede horror, arrested two more people in connection with the case on Monday. The arrested accused have been identified as Durgesh Kuma Saxena and Dalbeer Singh. Both the accused were present at the congregation on the day when the tragedy unfolded. They both were active in their role as 'sewadar' on July 2. They both played a key role in making arrangements for the 'satsang'. Both of them are accused of negligence.

So far, 11 people, including the 'Mukhya Sewadar' of self-proclaimed preacher 'Bhole Baba', have been arrested. The 'Mukhya Sewadar' alias Devprakash Madhukar was arrested on Friday.

The horrific stampede incident which occurred during a religious congregation in Ratibhanpur village in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh on July 2 left as many as 121 people dead and several people injured.  Among the 121 deceased were mostly women and children. The horror unfolded during the ‘satsang’ of self-proclaimed preacher Narayan Sakar Hari aka Bhole Baba's in Hathras.

Shocking Lapses in Hathras Stampede 

Several glaring lapses have come to fore that led to the tragedy. Republic has learnt that many things which are necessary to a religious event were missing which aggravated the tragedy. The glaring lapses indicate that there was gross negligence in both taking and giving permission. Overcrowding was one of the reasons which led to the stampede incident, as per the FIR. The FIR stated that, the application submitted by the event organisers seeking permission for the 'satsang' had mentioned the number of attendees at 80,000, but the actual number was much higher. Sources revealed that as per a report, nearly 2.5 lakh people turned up at the event.

How the Tragedy Unfolded?  

As the event concluded, a stampede broke out, resulting in injuries to several people, including women and children. An eyewitness to the incident Jyoti said, “Suddenly there was pushing and shoving as there were more people than space allowed. The incident happened after the Satsang ended, when everyone tried to leave at once.” People had come to the gathering not only from Uttar Pradesh but also from other states. The accident happened while people were trying to collect the soil from Baba's feet as they were leaving. The place of the accident was muddy.