In response to the devastating stampede at a prayer meet organized by ‘godman’ Bhole Baba near Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, which resulted in 121 deaths, six district officials, including a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), have been suspended. The SDM had granted permission for the event without inspecting the venue or informing his superiors, according to a Special Investigation Team (SIT) report submitted to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday morning.
The SIT report highlighted significant negligence and inadequate arrangements by the organizers and local officials, including the police, who did not take the event “seriously.” The organizers, deemed “primarily responsible,” failed to conduct proper police verifications for hired individuals and severely underestimated the expected crowd size, leading to insufficient safety measures.
The SIT, led by Additional Director General of Police (Agra Zone) Anupam Kulshrestha and Aligarh Divisional Commissioner Chaitra V, noted that the event was approved for 80,000 attendees, but over 2.5 lakh people turned up. The organizers’ misrepresentation of expected numbers was seen as an attempt to avoid additional safety protocols. This was not the first instance of such deceit; in May 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a similar rally in Farrukhabad had vastly exceeded permitted attendance.
Following the incident, the SDM and five other officials, including a Circle Officer and a Tehsildar, have been removed from active duty. Nine individuals, including the main organizer Devprakash Madhukar, have been arrested. Bhole Baba, whose real name is Suraj Pal Singh, has not been named as an accused or questioned.
The SIT report also emphasized the lack of safety measures, such as designated entry and exit points, and the absence of medical stations and ambulances. The organizers were accused of exacerbating the chaos and obstructing police inspections.
Chief Minister Adityanath announced ₹2 lakh compensation for the families of those killed and ₹50,000 for the injured. He pledged a thorough investigation to determine whether the stampede was an accident or part of a larger conspiracy.
In addition to the SIT investigation, a judicial panel headed by a retired high court judge is probing the incident. A top court lawyer has filed a plea for a Supreme Court-led investigation, urging the court to frame necessary guidelines to prevent such tragedies in the future.
