Self-styled godman Suraj Pal Singh or “Bhole Baba” broke his silence on Saturday in connection with the Hathras stampede in which 121 people, mostly women and children, died, stating that “those who created the chaos will not be spared.”
In a video statement Suraj Pal who also goes by the name of Narayan Sakar Hari expressed his grief and condoled the deaths at the tragedy that took place earlier this week during a ‘Satsang’ in Fulari village in Hathras district.
“I am deeply saddened by the incident of July 2. May God give us the strength to bear this pain. Please keep faith in the government and the administration. I have faith that those who created the chaos will not be spared. Through my lawyer AP Singh, I have requested the members of the committee to stand with the bereaved families and the injured and help them throughout their lives,” the ‘Baba’ said.
As per the police FIR, around 250,000 people had gathered despite permission being given for only 80,000.
Meanwhile, the main accused, identified as Devprakash Madhukar surrendered in front of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), Special Task Force (STF), and Uttar Pradesh police, his Advocate AP Singh said in a video statement on Friday.
Advocate AP Singh said, “Dev Prakash Madhukar who was named in the FIR in the Hathras case, was said to be the main organizer has surrendered in front of SIT, STF, and Police. We have handed him over to the SIT and the Uttar Pradesh Police. Now a thorough investigation can be done…His health should be taken care of, he is a heart patient and nothing wrong should happen to him…”
“It was my promise that we will not use any anticipatory bail, will not file any application and will not go to any court, because what have we done? What is our crime? We told you that we would surrender Dev Prakash Madhukar, take him in front of the police, interrogate him, participate in the investigation, and take part in the inquiry,” the laywer said.
However, no such information has been received from the police yet.
Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met with the families of the victims in Hathras
En route to Hathras, Gandhi also stopped in Aligarh and met with families of the victims of the tragedy.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adidyanath announced financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the victims who lost their lives, along with Rs 50,000 for the people who got injured there.
A three-member Judicial Inquiry Commission under the chairmanship of Justice (retd) Brijesh Kumar Srivastava has been constituted to ensure comprehensiveness of the subject matter and transparency in the inquiry.
The Judicial Commission will investigate the stampede incident over the next two months and submit its report to the State Government.
As per the prima facie report, the stampede took place when devotees rushed to seek blessings and collect soil from around the preacher’s feet, but were stopped from doing so by his security personnel. They then started pushing one another due to which several people fell triggering chaos at the site.
