LUCKNOW : The death toll in the stampede that broke out in a ‘satsang’ here 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. Scores of devotees were left injured in the tragedy. The incident occurred in Phulrai village, around 47 km from Hathras town.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath met those injured in the stampede — which took place at around 3.30 pm when the Baba was leaving the venue with some accounts saying people slipped in the slush as they ran after the preacher’s car. Three ministers—UP Cabinet minister Chadhury Laxmi Narayan, UP MoS Sandeep Singh and Asim Arun along with UP Chief Secretary Manoj Singh and UP DGP Prashant Kumar are already staying put in Hathras evaluating the situation.

In the meantime, the Hathras district administration has filed an FIR against the organisers including chief Sewadar Devprakash Madhukar and several other unnamed organisers.

However, the godman Bole Baba has not been named in the FIR. While the state government has put around 34 districts of western and central UP on high alert, the Hathras police have launched a manhunt for Bhole Baba. Raids have been conducted on his Mainpuri Ashram on Tuesday night. He is yet to be nabbed.

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), according to reports  .

The FIR also says that the bodyguards of the Bhole Baba stopped the devotees who were rushing to take his blessings in the field and that led them to fall in a ditch over one another leading to the loss of so many lives. The UP Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh had also confirmed overcrowding of the venue as a reason for the tragedy.

Victims outside the Trauma Centre after a stampede broke out at a religious gathering, in Hathras district, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. At least 27 people were killed and several injured in the stampede, according to officials.

Victims outside the Trauma Centre after a stampede broke out at a religious gathering, in Hathras district, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. At least 27 people were killed and several injured in the stampede, according to officials.

Of the 116 who died on Tuesday, all were women, except for seven children and one man. The bodies of the victims were sent to Etah, Aligarh, Agra and Mathura where the autopsy was carried out the whole night.

Meanwhile, Advocate Gaurav Dwivedi filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Allahabad High Court demanding a CBI inquiry into the Hathras Stampede accident. Vishal Tiwari, another advocate has also moved the Supreme Court of India seeking a five-member panel, led by a retired Supreme Court judge, to hold the probe. He has also appealed to the apex court to initiate legal action against the organisers and the lax district administration officials responsible for such a huge tragedy.

A team consisting of ADG Agra and Aligarh Divisional Commissioner has been constituted to inquire into the cause of the incident. The report is to be submitted within 24 hours, the government said in a statement on Tuesday.

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.”

Victims outside the Trauma Centre after a stampede broke out at a religious gathering, in Hathras district, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. At least 27 people were killed and several injured in the stampede, according to officials.

According to the statement, lakhs of devotees gathered in the programme of Bhole Baba, famous as Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari, in Hathras district.  More devotees arrived at the event than the permission given by the administration.

In the worst such tragedy in recent years, 116 devotees suffocated to death and their bodies piled atop each other in the stampede that took place in the district’s Phulrai village.