A day after the tragic stampede at a religious event in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced a judicial probe led by a retired high court judge. The incident, which occurred during a ‘satsang’ hosted by local preacher Narayan Sakar Hari, resulted in the deaths of at least 121 devotees, mostly women. The Chief Minister visited the injured and bereaved families, promising strict action against those responsible and announcing a compensation of ₹2 lakh for each family of the deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured.
Earlier, UP Police filed an FIR against the event organizers for allegedly hiding evidence and violating conditions, with 2.5 lakh attendees far exceeding the permitted 80,000. Notably, Bhole Baba was not named in the FIR. The police also revealed that the ‘sevadars’ (aides) hindered the administration’s access to the event site and fled when asked to help transport the injured to hospitals.
The chaos reportedly began when women surged towards the preacher as he descended from the stage. CM Adityanath emphasized the need for a thorough investigation and warned against politicizing the tragedy. Additionally, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by ADG Agra has submitted a preliminary report, and further investigation is ongoing.
In a related incident, a police constable assigned to manage the aftermath succumbed to a heart attack, likely due to acute trauma from witnessing the devastation. The constable, Ravi Yadav, died at Etah Medical College, underscoring the profound emotional toll on first responders.
This devastating event has prompted calls for better crowd management and stricter adherence to safety protocols at large gatherings to prevent such tragedies in the future.
