Hathras stampede: ‘Turned over 100 bodies to find sister’, says brother of missing woman

The past few hours have been harrowing for the brother of a missing woman, who he has been trying to trace her since the stampede broke out in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras on Tuesday (July 2).

“I turned over more than 100 dead bodies to check their faces," Rakesh Kumar, whose 50-year-old sister has been missing since the stampede, said on Wednesday (July 3).

After visiting the post-mortem houses in Hathras, Etah and Aligarh, “where a large number of dead bodies were lying and the situation was horrifying”, Rakesh, 46, said he reached the post-mortem house in Agra on his motorcycle in the morning to search for his sister, Harbeji Devi.

121 dead so far

The death toll in the stampede that broke out in a 'satsang' in Hathras rose to 121 on Wednesday and police filed an FIR against the organisers, accusing them of hiding evidence and flouting conditions with 2.5 lakh people crammed into a venue in which only 80,000 were permitted.

The victims were part of the crowd which had gathered near Phulrai village in the Sikandrarau area of Hathras for the 'satsang' by religious preacher Baba Narayan Hari, also known as Saakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba.

The incident took place as the satsang ended. It is being said that people slipped in the slush as they ran after the preacher's car, triggering the stampede.

‘Visited every mortuary, called all helpline numbers’

“On Tuesday, I got a call from my brother-in-law, who lives in a village in Aligarh, informing me that Harbeji had gone to the satsang but has not returned, while their neighbours (who also went to attend the programme) have reached home,” Kumar, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Kasganj, told PTI.

He immediately left for the stampede site on his motorcycle but did not find his sister.

“I was informed that some bodies had been sent to Hathras and Aligarh. I then went there looking for my sister. I also checked the emergency ward, where injured people were being treated, but couldn't find her. I have even checked the list of the deceased released by the administration and called every helpline number, trying to locate her but all my efforts have been in vain. I have not found her yet and I am still trying," he said.

Harbeji has four children, two daughters and two sons, Kumar added.

In search of loved ones

Like Kumar, there were many other people, who had reached the post-mortem house in Agra from nearby districts in search of their missing family members or to collect the bodies of their loved ones.

Mathura's Vishal Kumar said that after he heard about the incident, he went to the spot and searched everywhere but could not find his mother, Pushpa Devi.

“Eventually, we learnt that her body had been sent to Agra for postmortem, so I came here," Vishal Kumar said, adding that his mother was a follower of Bhole Baba for almost a decade.

According to Chief Medical Officer, Agra, Dr Arun Srivastava, 21 bodies have been brought here for the post-mortem since the stampede incident occurred on Tuesday.

Maya Devi, a follower of Bhole Baba who attended the event, said she came to know about the incident after she boarded the bus to return to Agra.

"I was given the responsibility of providing water to the attendees at the event. I was unaware of what had happened until I reached my bus," Devi, who is a resident of Agra, said.

(With inputs from agencies)