LIVE | Hathras stampede toll at 121; UP govt forms judicial commission to probe
CM Yogi Adityanath orders judicial probe into incident, says SOPs would be issued to prevent recurrence of tragedy
The death toll in the stampede that broke out a ‘satsang’ in Pulrai village of Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras went up to 121 on Wednesday (July 3). Police in an FIR filed against the organisers accused them of hiding evidence and flouting conditions with 2.5 lakh people crammed into a venue in which only 80,000 were permitted.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath met those injured in the stampede - which took place at around 3.30 pm when religious preacher Bhole Baba was leaving the venue with some accounts saying people slipped in the slush as they ran after the preacher's car.
"The chief minister held a meeting with officials in the circuit house and met the injured in district hospitals," a government official said.
A team consisting of ADG Agra and Aligarh Divisional Commissioner has been constituted to inquire into the cause of the incident. The report is likely to be submitted on Wednesday.
According to the Office of the Relief Commissioner, the number of people injured stands at 28. Only four of the 121 bodies remained to be identified.
Of the 116 who died on Tuesday, all were women, except for seven children and one man.
Where is religious preacher?
Where was Baba Narayan Hari, also known as Saakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba, the preacher who conducted the ‘satsang’? That was the question as he remained missing and police launched a search for him.
While the state police lodged an FIR against the organisers, his name is not in the list of accused though it is there in the complaint.
Giving a sense of what took place, the FIR alleged that the organisers hid the actual number of devotees coming to the 'satsang' while seeking permission, did not cooperate in traffic management and hid evidence after the incident.
The FIR apparently gave a clean chit to the police and administration, saying they did whatever possible from the available resources.
'Mukhya sevadar' Devprakash Madhukar and other organisers have been named in the first information report (FIR) filed at the Sikandar Rau police station late Tuesday, a senior official told PTI.
The FIR has been registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 126 (2) (wrongful restraint), 223 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by the public servant), 238 (causing disappearance of evidence), the official said.
The organisers sought permission for about 80,000 people for which police and administration made arrangements. However, over 2.5 lakh people gathered, it said.
According to the FIR, police and administration officials did everything possible and sent the injured from the available resources to hospitals but the organisers and 'sevadars' did not cooperate.
Organisers tried to hide actual number: FIR
The organisers also tried to hide the actual number of people coming to the event by hiding evidence and throwing slippers and other belongings of the devotees in nearby fields, the FIR alleged.
Asphyxia due to compression was the leading cause of death, a senior doctor in an Etah hospital said. The hospital performed four times the usual number of autopsies in a day in the aftermath of the stampede, he said.
Twenty-seven bodies were taken to the mortuary of the district hospital.
"Asphyxia due to compression was found to be the cause of death in almost all the cases," Etah's Additional Chief Medical Officer Dr Ram Mohan Tiwari told PTI. A majority of the victims were women in the 40-50 age group.
Follow this space for more live updates:
Live Updates
- 3 July 2024 1:13 AM GMT
Several envoys in India mourn loss of lives in Hathras stampede
Envoys of several countries, including Germany, France and China, mourned the loss of lives in a stampede in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras on Tuesday and extended condolences to victims' families.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in a post on X said he was deeply distressed by the tragic incident.
"Deeply distressed by the tragic loss of lives in a stampede in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. Sincere condolences to the bereaved families. Pray for the speedy recovery of the injured," he wrote on the social media platform.
The stampede at a religious congregation killed 116 people as devotees suffocated to their deaths and bodies piled atop each other in the worst such tragedy in recent years.
The incident took place as the devotees -- most of them women -- headed home after a 'satsang' in the Hathras district's Phulrai village. The 'satsang' was conducted by Baba Narayan Hari, who is also known as Saakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba.
German envoy Philipp Ackermann in a post on X in the evening offered condolences to the families that lost their loved ones in the stampede and said he was deeply saddened about the tragic incident.
"Deeply saddened about the tragic events in Hathras. My condolences to the families that lost their loved ones. We hope that help quickly reaches the injured," he wrote on the social media platform.
Later on Tuesday night, Chinese envoy Xu Feihong also took to X to mourn the loss of lives in the incident.
"Shocked and saddened about the tragic events in Hathras, UP. Deeply mourn for the lives lost and extend heartfelt sympathies to victims' families. Wish the injured a speedy recovery," he wrote on the social media platform.
French Ambassador to India Thierry Mathou also posted a message on X, which was reposted by the French Embassy in New Delhi.
"Deeply saddened by the loss of lives following the tragic stampede in Uttar Pradesh's #Hathras district. France expresses its deepest condolences to the bereaved families of the victims and wishes the injured a speedy recovery," the envoy wrote on X.
Israeli Ambassador Naor Gilon also echoed the sentiments expressed by the other envoys.
"Deeply saddened about the loss of lives at the tragic stampede in #Hathras, UP. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims. Wishing a speedy recovery to the injured. Such incidents are truly heartbreaking," he wrote on X.
- 3 July 2024 1:13 AM GMT
Most victims of Hathras stampede identified: UP govt
Most of the 116 people who died in a stampede during a 'satsang' organised in Sikandra Rao area of the Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday have been identified, the Uttar Pradesh government said.
Devotees had come to the 'satsang' from various districts of Uttar Pradesh as well as neighbouring states.
Aligarh Zone Inspector General of Police (IG) Shalabh Mathur told PTI, "116 people have died in the stampede incident in Hathras." Etah and Hathras are adjacent districts and people from Etah had also come to attend the 'satsang'.
Efforts are being made to identify the remaining bodies, officials said.
Earlier, Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh, while giving details of the casualties to journalists, said that out of the 116 victims, seven are children, one man and the rest are women.
- 2 July 2024 3:17 PM GMT
CM to visit Hathras tomorrow
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is likely to visit Hathras on Wednesday in the wake of the stampede, a senior government official said. The official said Adityanath is taking stock of the situation round the clock. UP Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh and DGP Prashant Kumar have been directed to reach the spot. - 2 July 2024 3:01 PM GMT
"Only one doctor, no oxygen"
Bodies lay scattered at the Sikandara Rao Trauma Centre in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district on Tuesday as people milled around them, wiping away tears and consoling one another.
That is where the victims, dead or unconscious, of the stampede were brought in ambulances, trucks and cars.
A woman sat crying among five or six bodies in a truck, urging people to help her get the body of her daughter out of the vehicle. A video clip showed a man and a woman lying lifeless in a different vehicle.
Many of the injured were seen lying near the entrance of the local government hospital surrounded by anxious relatives. Locals blamed the administration’s negligence for the tragedy.
As the hours went by, the official estimate of the fatalities jumped and the crowds outside the trauma centre and the mortuary swelled.
“There are almost 100-200 casualties and there was only one doctor at the hospital. There was no facility for oxygen. Some are still breathing but there are no proper treatment facilities,” an agitated youth said outside the hospital.
Speaking to media persons, DM Ashish Kumar said it was a private function for which the permission was granted by the sub-divisional magistrate. The local administration provided security outside the venue while the internal arrangement was to be looked after by the organisers, he added.
The Uttar Pradesh government said an FIR will be registered against the organisers of the programme.
- 2 July 2024 2:57 PM GMT
Shah promises help from Centre
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has spoken to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and assured him of all possible Central help to deal with the situation.
The chief minister also apprised Shah about the tragic incident which has claimed more than 50 lives.
“Spoke to Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri @myogiadityanath ji, regarding the accident in Hathras and got information about the incident and assured all possible help from the central government. NDRF medical team is also reaching Hathras soon,” Shah wrote on X in Hindi.
- 2 July 2024 2:39 PM GMT
Death toll 87
News agency ANI quotes Chaitra V, Commissioner Aligarh, as saying, "So far the death toll is 87 and the number of injured is 18 and they are out of danger."
