Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday took a dig at Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav as he addressed a press conference on the stampede at the congregation of Bhole Baba in Hathras in which 121 devotees were killed.
The chief minister, without taking names, said everyone knew about the godman’s “political allies”. The statement came after Yadav’s old pictures at an event held by Bhole Baba went viral in the aftermath of the Hathras tragedy.
“There are some people who only know to do politics, even on such tragic incidents. It’s known who Baba’s political allies are. Everyone must have seen the picture of the person who was attending Baba’s function. I think such a matter should be investigated,” said Adityanath as he ordered a judicial inquiry to analyse if the incident was the fallout of a human error or an act of sabotage. Initially, Yadav had blamed the Yogi government for the stampede, calling it the fallout of sheer negligence.
Responding to the chief minister’s allegations, Samajwadi Party MP RK Choudhary said the UP government wanted to turn the Hathras stampede into a Hindu-Muslim issue. He said the Hathras administration was to be blamed for the incident as some injured persons had also died due to lack of proper treatment.
Abhishek Mishra, former MLA and senior SP leader, also called the tragedy the complete failure of the UP government. “There is a standard procedure of organising any event. They must have checked how many people will attend the function and should have planned accordingly. Instead of passing the buck, they should own up,” Mishra said.
Where is Bhole Baba?
Amidst the political war of words, the key question is about the whereabouts of Bhole Baba who is absconding after the tragedy. Though UP Police has registered an FIR against one Devprakash Madhukar aka ‘Mukhya Sewadar’ and other organisers of the event, the godman’s name is yet to be included in the FIR.
“We carried out a raid at Baba’s Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri district but could not find him,” said deputy superintendent of police Sunil Kumar.
Bhole Baba aka Narayan Hari has a large following not only in UP but also in neighbouring states of Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Baba’s followers say he is also known for his political connections — a fact that cops say the godman may use to his advantage to evade arrest.
What Does the FIR Say?
The FIR in the incident reads: “Around 2:00 PM, as Bhole Baba left the venue in his car, devotees began collecting dust from the path his car took. The massive crowd of lakhs surged, causing those sitting and bowing down to be crushed, leading to screams. On the other side of GT Road, the crowd, running wildly through waterlogged fields and a three-meter-deep ditch, was forcibly stopped by the organising committee and guards welding sticks. This increased the pressure on the crowd, resulting in women, children, and men being trampled. Many sustained severe injuries, and the situation turned fatal for some due to the chaos and stampede.”
The FIR adds that police and administrative officers present at the spot tried their best to take the injured to hospital but no cooperation was provided by the organisers.
“The organisers had invited a large number of people for the programme by hiding the actual number of devotees that gathered there. Also, the conditions of permission for traffic control at the venue were not followed by the organiser,” the FIR further reads.
The FIR also blamed the organisers for tampering with evidence by clearing the site of the incident.
“Thus, due to the above actions of the organizers and service providers, a large number of innocent people have been killed and seriously injured. This act of the organizers and servants is a crime under Bharatiya Nyay 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),” said the FIR, which was filed on a complaint by Brijesh Pandey, sub inspector outpost in-charge, Pura Police Station, Sikandra Rao, Hathras.
The Uttar Pradesh government has launched two helpline numbers — 05722227041 and 05722227042 — after the Hathras stampede.
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