Officials said the SIT, which submitted its report on Monday blaming the organizers for the stampede, has not ruled out the possibility of a conspiracy
The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday suspended a sub-district magistrate (SDM), a tehsildar, a district police officer, one station officer and two police outpost officers for alleged dereliction of duty. This was done on the recommendations of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to probe the stampede at a religious gathering in Hathras last week, in which 121 people died, officials said.
Officials added that the SIT, which submitted its report on Monday blaming the organizers for the stampede, has not ruled out the possibility of a conspiracy but stressed the need for a thorough investigation. "In a preliminary investigation, the SIT has identified those primarily responsible for the accident based on eyewitness testimony and other evidence. The SIT has also found the organizers as well as the police and tehsil-level administration guilty," said the official on condition of anonymity. He said the SIT had concluded that the suspended officials had not taken the meeting seriously and had not reported it to their superiors. The official added that the SIT said the SDM had given permission for the event without inspecting the venue or informing higher officials. He added that the organisers had concealed the facts and obtained permission for the event. The official said the conditions applicable for the permission had not been met. He added that the organisers had not taken adequate precautions and had failed to meet the conditions approved by the administration.
The official said the SIT had said officials from the organising committee had created confusion. He added that some had joined the committee without proper verification by the police. The official said the organising committee had misbehaved with the police and tried to prevent them from inspecting the venue. He added that despite the huge crowd, no maintenance of fencing or pathways had been done. The official said the organising committee members fled the scene during the stampede. He added that the SIT had recorded statements of 125 people, including administrative officials, police personnel, common people and eyewitnesses. "In addition, newspaper articles relating to the incident, video footage from the scene, photographs and video clips were also reviewed," he said.
