No FIR Against Godman; FIR only against his aid in Hathras Stampede
No FIR Against Godman; FIR only against his aid in Hathras Stampede
"Organizers tried to cover up the incident": Yogi Adityanath over stampede in Hathras
Organizers of a "prayer meeting" held by guru Bole Baba in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, India, ended in a slump. More than 100 people died in the massive crowding, and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who visited the scene, said they "tried to cover up the incident." He said on Wednesday, "Something like this will never happen again... SOPs (standard operating protocols) are there... We will ensure that."
The prime minister said a high-level law committee, chaired by a former Supreme Court judge, would look into possible deficiencies already reported, including questions about permissions and a lack of crowd control and safety measures.
"Those who are guilty will not be saved," the Prime Minister said. "There is no denying that this stampede was not an accident... (But) if it was not an accident, was it a conspiracy by whom? We will be initiating a judicial inquiry headed by a former Supreme Court judge."
Yogi Adityanath confirmed reports this morning that the stampede was triggered by a tug-of-war between large crowds who jostled at his feet. Touching the godmen and people leaving the venue after the "prayer meeting" ended.
"I have spoken to several witnesses... They said that during the "satsanga", when the women tried to touch the feet of the godman, a large crowd of people moved forward and the security forces (private officials of Bhole Bhalla) pushed them back. Then they tried to cover it up," he said.
"And when the people were taken to the hospital, the security forces fled."
Among the 121 people crushed to death by an angry crowd in Hathras on Tuesday afternoon - some estimates put the number at more than a quarter of a million - were children. The crowd had gathered to take part in a "satsanga", or "prayer meeting", led by a self-styled spiritual leader, Suraj Pal Singh, who calls himself Bhole Baba. Facing growing political pressure from the opposition, and with the government rushing to identify and arrest the culprits, the prime minister today said six of the dead were from Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, while the rest were from different parts of Uttar Pradesh.
More than 30 people were injured and admitted to hospital, but are said to be out of danger. Meanwhile, tough questions are being asked of local authorities and police officials, including who gave permission for such a large gathering and why no safety measures were put in place.
Police have filed a complaint against Baba Bhole's aide (real name Suraj Pal Singh) and the event organisers. But the godman is not mentioned in the FIR.
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