Hathras Stampede: UP Police Detains 12 After Late-Night Raids, 'Sevadar', Godman Still Untraceable

Hathras: Two days after the Hathras stampede horror unfolded killing as many as 121 people, including children, the self-proclaimed preacher 'Bhole Baba' and the main accused Ved Prakash Madhukar, 'Mukhya Sewadar' remain at large. As part of their ongoing investigation into the stampede incident, the police raided the the godman's ashram late on Wednesday night. An SOG team led by Additional SP City Rahul Mithas entered the ashram in Mainpuri at around 11pm and were yet to come out till the filing of this report.

Currently, around 20-25 police personnel along with SP city are present at the ashram. The UP Police SOG team reached the ashram to arrest the accused in Hathras stampede case.

12 Detained for Interrogation 

Meanwhile, the SOG team last night detained 12 people for interrogation in connection with the case. Raids were conducted in Hathras, Aligarh, Etah and Mainpuri throughout the night to nab the accused. The people who were detained by police were being interrogated at Sakandrau police station and police line.

The other organizers of the 'satsang' were still absconding.

Following the stampede incident during a religious congregation in Ratibhanpur village in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, police filed an FIR against one Devprakash Madhukar, referred to as 'Mukhya Sewadar', and other organisers of the religious event.

The FIR was filed under sections 105, 110, 126(2), 223 and 238 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. So far, no arrests have been made in the case. The tragic incident took place during the 'satsang' of self-proclaimed preacher Narayan Saakar Hari popularly known as Bhole Baba in Phulwari, Hathras.

Hathras Stampede FIR: 5 Points

The FIR in the tragedy mentioned that the permission was sought for only 80,000 but over 2.5 lakh people congregated at the venue.
The FIR added that situation went out of control when people tried to collect soil from the path of convoy of Surajpal aka 'Bhole Baba'.
It also states that no help was given by the organisers and sewadars of the Satsang when the tragedy unfolded.
The FIR revealed traffic violations by the event organisers at the venue.
The FIR added that organisers tried to covered up the stampede by hiding and throwing the belongings (such as left over slippers) of the scores of people in the nearby field.

Glaring Lapses Exposed

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.

What Led to Hathras Stampede? 

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.