UP stampede: Adityanath meets injured in Hathras

Hathras: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday met those who were injured in the Hathras stampede, a senior government official said.

The stampede at a religious congregation on Tuesday left 121 people dead and 28 injured.

“The chief minister held a meeting with officials in the circuit house and met the injured in district hospitals,” the 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, the government said.

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday registered an FIR against the organisers of the congregation, accusing them of hiding evidence and flouting conditions with 2.5 lakh people gathering for the event in which only 80,000 were permitted.

However, the congregation or ‘satsang’ conductor Jagat Guru Saakar Vishwahari’s name does not figure in the list of accused in the FIR though his name is in the complaint.

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 stampede, which broke out after people gathered there stopped to collect mud from the way the baba’s vehicle was passing.

Speaking to reporters at his residence on Tuesday, Adityanath said, “Our government will get to the bottom of this incident and give appropriate punishment to the conspirators and those responsible. The state government is investigating this entire incident. We will see whether it is an accident or a conspiracy.”

He also slammed the political parties doing politics over the tragic incident and said, “Doing politics on such an incident is extremely unfortunate and condemnable. This is the time to heal the wounds of the victims, to sympathise with the victims. The government is sensitive in this matter and no culprit will be spared.”

The chief minister said that whoever is found guilty will not be spared.

According to police, around 2.5 lakh devotees gathered in the programme of Bhole Baba, popularly known as Jagat Guru Saakar Vishwahari, in Hathras district.

In the worst such tragedy in recent years, 121 devotees suffocated to death and their bodies piled atop each other in the stampede that took place in the district’s Phulrai village on Tuesday.