Bhole Baba was allowed to ‘leave first’ even as people were crushed: Inside the Hathras stampede

Mad rush, extreme humidity, slippery ground, the desperation to seek the preacher’s blessings, confusion, screams, and fear, were exactly the scenes at a “satsang” in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras on Tuesday.

Lakhs of devotees had gathered to listen to self-styled godman ‘ Bhole Baba,’ in Phulrai village of Sikanda Rau tehsil on June 2. A stampede broke as the devotees started to leave at the end of a “satsang” (prayer meet).

It is one of the worst crowd crushes in the country, as over 121 people died in the incident and 250 others were injured.

People who survived have narrated the horror of the stampede unfolding before their eyes.

Let’s take a look.

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People got ‘crushed’

An eyewitness named Shakuntala stated that as the crowd rushed forward, victims began to fall one after another. “Everyone started to come out after the event ended. The road was uneven outside as it was built on a height with a drain below. One after the other, people started falling into it. Some people got crushed," she told, as per The Times of India.

Another eyewitness said that people standing on the side of the road were pushed by the crowd leaving after the satsang. “They fell on top of each other and could not get out of the drain. 20-25 people died on the spot,” the man said.

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A man was carrying his three-year-old dead son in his lap while looking for his missing wife. He rushed to the site after he learnt about the stampede. “His mother is still missing. I never imagined that I will have to go to the mortuary carrying my son’s body in my lap; I had only sent him to a satsang with his mother,” he told News18, with tears in his eyes.

Two boys, who reportedly lost their mother in the incident, said they spotted their mother in a viral WhatsApp video of the satsang. “A video came in front of us in which we saw our mother lying on the ground. After that, we ran to the satsang and only after searching for several hours, we found her in the mortuary,” the channel quoted the boys as saying.

Another woman revealed she lost her son-in-law and sister-in-law in the stampede.

Chhaya, who was undergoing treatment at the hospital, said she had come to the satsang with her mother and another family member. “There was a lot of crowd on the road due to which there was a scuffle and then a stampede."

Another eyewitness Parvana Devi told News18 she suffered injuries in the jostling that followed after Baba left the event. “We came to Bhole Baba’s ‘satsang’. As soon as it ended, all hell broke loose. As soon as Baba left, we too thought of leaving but got stuck in the crowd,” she said.

In one of the video clips surfaced online,  a woman is seen crying, sitting among five or six bodies in a truck.

Another picture showed a man and a woman lying lifeless in another vehicle.

Some went missing

While the rescue operation continued, some looked for their missing relatives.

“I came here with my family members from Badaun. The wife of my younger brother is missing after the stampede. We got to know that several people were missing. I was making announcements in the mic but it did not help,” TOI quoted Suresh.

Another survivor had came with 20-25 people to attend the satsang and was still looking for her 15-year-old daughter. “We had come here to attend the satsang from Agra. My 15-year-old daughter is missing. Around 20-25 people had come from Agra but we can’t find my daughter anywhere. People say they do not know anything,” she told the newspaper.

Ramnaresh, a resident of Farrukhabad, who was standing on the other side when the stampede took place, said everyone ran after Baba’s car and wanted to touch his feet to seek his blessings. “I was on the other side when the stampede happened. The land was not flat and everyone ran after Baba’s car. Everyone wanted to touch his feet once and seek his blessings,” he said.

Mathura-resident Sohanlal revealed his entire family is here with him as he has lost his sister-in-law, who came to the event alone. “Her children are also with us,” he said.

A man along with his other family members are still looking for his sister and nephew. “I looked for them all night, but have not found them yet,” he said, showing their photographs.

‘Baba ji will go first’

Eyewitnesses recall how Bhole Baba’s security blocked the way to the exit without giving much thought to the fate of his followers.

Kanhaiya Lal, whose mother and niece were still missing, told News18 that there were two divisions covering the entire space: the one where “Baba ji” and a few “privileged” devotees who could afford to pay to sit close by were seated, and the larger group was seated under a different section a short distance from the canopy of the religious preacher.

“It was around 2 pm when Baba ji announced the closure of the event and was heading towards his vehicle when people from both the canopies rushed to collect ‘raj’ (dust) from Baba ji’s feet and to escape the choking, humid environment at the canopies,” he said.

But, Baba’s private army (also known as ‘sevadaars’), donning black attires and considering themselves no less than ‘NSG commandos’, blocked the way for a safe exit to the Baba, without considering the consequences, recounted Lal.

Lakhimpur Kheri native Raja Ram said that there were around 250 ‘sewadaars’ who stood like a wall before the exit point to allow Baba’s convoy to reach the highway, adjacent to the satsang’s venue.

“We kept on pleading sewadaars that please allow us to go as the crowd is piling up and we are unable to breath following the high humidity levels but our plea fell on the deaf ears and they continue to say that ‘pehle baba ji jayenge, fir bhakt’ (first baba ji will go, then his followers,” Raja Ram told the channel.

An attendee identified as Rani Devi said, “It was so humid, suffocating and even slippery since the area witnessed heavy rainfall a day before. Those who fell, never stood up again.”

‘Not an isolated incident’

An eyewitness pinned the blame on the police for negligence, while demanding the suspension of all personnel involved.

“This incident is not an isolated one; it occurred due to police negligence on the road. The police did not handle the situation properly. We want CM Yogi to suspend all the police personnel involved. I asked the DM what would happen to those who lost their lives; the police officers brushed me off, and the DM asked me to go home,” IANS quoted the eyewitness as saying.

Mahesh Chandra, the member of the committee that organised the satsang, alleged that the stampede took place due to the administration’s inefficiency. He said that they have got permission to hold the satsang.

“People were buried in the mud, and the crowd ran, and there was no one to control them,” Chandra said.

Also read: Crowd of over 2.5 lakh and a rush to touch baba’s feet: What led to Hathras stampede

The incident

The stampede in Hathras killed about 121 people, most of whom were women.

The tragic incident occurred around 2 pm when the satsang was finished and Bhole Baba’s convoy was leaving the venue.

The organisers tried to create a passage from the venue to the main highway for the convoy of Baba’s cars to leave. People had gathered on both sides of the corridor, as per another report by News18.

Amidst this, a large of group women tried to collect soil from the ground on which the vehicles passed or just touch the Baba’s vehicles, when the Baba’s ‘sewadaars’ stopped them.

This desperation to seek blessings, in addition to the high humidity, suffocation, overcrowding and slippery ground led to the stampede, as per the report.

A detailed probe is underway with the state DGP and Chief Secretary camping at the spot.

Who is to blame?

As per the First Information Report (FIR) filed, about 2.5 lakh people had gathered for the event, in which only 80,000 were permitted. The FIR, according to News18, also alleges that the organisers destroyed evidence and failed to assist those affected by the stampede.

According to the FIR, the ‘satsang’ was held by Suraj Pal, who also goes by the names Narayan Hari, Sakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba or simply ‘Bhole Baba’ near GT Road in the Phulrai Mugalgarhi village in the Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh.

A report by PTI quoted a senior official saying that in the FIR filed at the Sikandara Rao police station later Tuesday, only ‘Mukhya sevadar’ (main organiser) Devprakash Madhukar and other organisers have been named.

The FIR in the Hathras stampede incident 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).

“There was total failure on the part of the organisers. Bhole Baba’s men stopped the crowd’s movement to let his convoy pass after the completion of the satsang. A rush built up on both sides of the convoy corridor and led to the stampede,” a senior official told the news channel.

He added, “The crowd was also eager to return quickly by buses once the satsang got over. The humidity was high and the ground was also slippery and uneven due to rains. All of this combined with the mismanagement of the huge crowd by the organisers has prima-facie led to the tragedy.”

The local authorities’ role, including the aspect of inadequate deployment of police, is being looked into.

District Magistrate Ashish Kumar said that the stampede occurred at a private function for which permission was granted by the sub-divisional magistrate. He said it was the local administration’s responsibility for security outside the venue, while the organisers were in charge of arrangements inside.

In response to the incident, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has promised to take strict action against all those responsible for negligence at the venue.

With inputs from agencies