On Tuesday, an incident occured at a religious gathering in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, a stampede broke out, killing at least 121 people—106 women and seven children among them, according to officials. There was a ‘satsang’ (prayer meeting) going on when the rush happened, with thousands in attendance.
A committee has been formed to look into the occurrence at the request of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who has taken notice of it. Along with offering their condolences to the relatives of the deceased, President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi also stated they were hoping for the injured to heal quickly. PM Modi stated that the Uttar Pradesh government is receiving all assistance from the Center.
उत्तर प्रदेश के हाथरस जिले में हुई दुर्घटना में महिलाओं और बच्चों सहित अनेक श्रद्धालुओं की मृत्यु का समाचार हृदय विदारक है। मैं अपने परिवारजनों को खोने वाले लोगों के प्रति गहन शोक संवेदना व्यक्त करती हूं तथा घायल हुए लोगों के शीघ्र स्वस्थ होने की कामना करती हूं।
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) July 2, 2024
My thoughts are with those bereaved in Hathras. Prayers with the injured. The UP Government is working to assist those affected. pic.twitter.com/hAhD5xFD1M
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 2, 2024
Ashish Kumar, the district magistrate of Hathras, stated that the community health center had provided figures indicating between fifty and sixty deaths. An additional 27 deaths were verified by Etah district officials.
Inspector General (Aligarh Range), Shalabh Mathur, stated later in the evening that the figure had increased to 116. In the morning, officials reported that the number had increased to 121.
“Within the boundaries of the Sikandra Rao police station in Hathras, the stampede started at Phulrai hamlet. The sub-divisional magistrate had granted authorization for this to be a private function. The administration arranged the security arrangements, but the organizers were meant to handle the other arrangements, according to Kumar.
The preacher Narayan Saakar Hari, also known as “Bhole Baba,” is still at large, according to the Uttar Pradesh Police. On Tuesday, during his satsang, over 120 people perished in a stampede in the Hathras area.
After the Uttar Pradesh Police conducted a search operation at Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri district in search of the self-styled godman, who hosted a Satsang in Hathras where a stampede occurred, Deputy Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar said that Bhole Baba could not be located.
During his visit to the stampede site, Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh stated that 108 of the 121 fatalities were women, seven children, and one man. According to him, 72 of these have been identified thus far.
This is what CM Yogi Adityanath Said on #HathrasSatsangIncident
— BuzzWee (@The_buzzwee) July 3, 2024
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“The state government has declared an ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 for the injured and Rs 2 lakh for the deceased. The central government would also contribute the same sum,” he declared.
The Manav Mangal Milan Sadbhavna Samagam Committee arranged the satsang for self-proclaimed godman Narayan Sakar Hari, also referred to as Bhole Baba or Sakar Vishwa Hari. After the stampede occurred, Bhole Baba has not been discovered, thus the police are searching for him.
Narayan Saakar Hari, popularly known as “Bhole Baba,” is a self-styled godman. He is expected to be arrested shortly after a stampede at his “satsang,” or religious gathering, in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, on Tuesday left over 100 people dead, the bulk of them women. It is thought that ‘Bhole Baba,’ whose real name was Suraj Pal, is at his ‘ashram’ in Mainpuri, approximately 100 miles away from the Phulrai village, where he conducted the tragic event that was witnessed by thousands of followers.
A dog squad and a forensic unit attended the scene of the stampede in Hathras. There were additional teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC).
#HathrasSatsangIncident Attendees blamed Police and poor management fir the incident.
— BuzzWee (@The_buzzwee) July 3, 2024
"More people will die because of lack of Doctors"
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Brief Info
The Hathras stampede claimed the lives of at least 121 individuals, including over 100 women and seven children, and injured 28 more.
The families of the slain and the injured have been announced to receive compensation of ₹ 2 lakh apiece and ₹ 50,000, respectively. The Hathras stampede site, according to officials, was too tiny to hold the large number of people who had assembled there on Tuesday afternoon.
As Narayan Saakar Hari was departing from the “satsang,” his disciples hurried to gather dust from the tire tracks of his vehicle. This set off the stampede that crushed hundreds of people underfoot.
According to officials, after his “sevadars” prevented the crowd from getting too close to the “godman,” the surging people collapsed on top of one another, smothering those below. The’satsang’ was attended by devotees from surrounding states and several districts of Uttar Pradesh.
A committee of high standing has been established to look into the occurrence.