Hathras. On Tuesday, an inauspicious event took place during the satsang of Saakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba in the huge pandal built on the GT road in an area of 150 bighas. After the satsang, devotees were stopped to let Bhole Baba’s convoy pass, but the organizers could not handle the crowd.
As soon as Baba’s convoy reached the highway, there was a stampede in the uncontrolled crowd. In the stampede, 116 devotees died, while more than two dozen were injured, who fell on each other in the field on the other side of the highway. There was screaming for hours after the accident.
An hour later, the administrative staff arrived and relief work was started. The death toll is expected to increase by late night. Even after such a huge crowd gathered, no security arrangements were made by the administration.
Preparations in 150 bighas since 15 days
Originally a resident of Patiyali of Kasganj, Saakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba’s Manav Mangal Milan Sadbhavana Samagam to be held on the first Tuesday of the month was handed over to the committee of Sikandrarao.
Preparations were going on in 150 bighas in Fullerai village on the GT road, six km away from the town, for the last 15 days. For this, devotees from many districts of the state as well as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand started arriving two days in advance.
The pandal was full since 8 am on Tuesday. Bhole Baba arrived with his wife at 12 noon and the satsang started. The satsang ended at 1 pm and after this the aarti started.
This is the sequence of events of the stampede
At 1:30 pm, Baba’s convoy left for Mainpuri from the venue. For this, a path was made from the side of the stage to the highway. The organizers stopped the crowd near the entrance.
Earlier, thousands of devotees had stood on the other side of the highway for darshan. As soon as Baba’s convoy reached the entrance on the highway, the crowd ran for darshan. After this, the situation went out of control.
Baba’s convoy moved ahead and the pressure of devotees coming from the front increased on the people standing on the side of the highway. Due to this, hundreds of devotees fell and ran towards the fields. After this, people started falling one on top of the other and there was screaming and shouting. Baba’s servants engaged in the management pulled out the buried people, but by then many had stopped breathing.
ADG, Chief Secretary and DGP also reached
On receiving the information of the incident, ADG Anupam Kulshreshtha and other divisional officers reached the spot and saw the status of relief work. Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh and DGP Prashant Kumar also reached the spot at night. The bodies have been sent to Hathras, Etah, Aligarh and Agra for post-mortem. The injured are undergoing treatment.
Police searching for organizers
After the satsang, Bhole Baba was to reach Bichhwa in Mainpuri, but he did not reach there. Police is also searching for the organizers. ADG Anupam Kulshreshtha said that so far 116 people have been confirmed dead. The organizer has been taken into custody. A case is being registered against him. A committee has been formed to investigate the incident.
President, PM expressed condolences, CM Yogi will reach
President Draupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have expressed condolences to the bereaved families of the deceased on the accident. Cabinet Minister Chaudhary Laxminarayan, MLC Rishipal Singh and other public representatives reached the spot on the instructions of the Chief Minister.
The Cabinet Minister said that financial help is being given to the victim families. The injured are being treated free of cost. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will reach on Wednesday.
Administration was careless about the event
Permission was taken from the administration by the organizers, but the administration issued the permission letter without taking information about the crowd. More than one and a half lakh people gathered on the highway, but a dozen policemen were deployed in the name of security.
After the incident, an alert has been issued in all the district level hospitals of Aligarh division. AD Health Mohan Jha, who reached the spot, said that proper arrangements have been made for the treatment of the injured in all the district hospitals of Aligarh, Hathras, Kasganj and Etah districts.
Doctors and specialists who went on leave have been asked to remain posted in the hospitals. On the other hand, instructions have also been given to ensure post-mortem arrangements in all the four districts.
