The death toll in the stampede incident which occurred in the Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday has gone up to 121. Around 28 people have sustained injuries in the incident, the Office of Relief Commissioner said on Wednesday.
According to officials, Of the 28 injured, six people are undergoing treatment at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in Aligarh; six people are admitted at Deen Dayal Hospital in Aligarh; nine people are under treatment at Bagla Hospital in Hathras; one at Agra SN Medical College while six are undergoing treatment at Etah Medical College in Hathras.
Uttar Pradesh police have launched a search operation at Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri district in search of Narayan Saakar Hari also known as Bhole Baba, the preacher of the ‘Satsang’ in Hathras, where the stampede incident occurred on Tuesday claiming lives of over hundred people and leaving dozens of others injured.
The preacher however remains untraceable. “We did not find Baba ji inside the campus. He is not here,” Deputy SP Sunil Kumar said earlier.
Uttar Pradesh Police have filed an FIR against the organisers of the religious event in Hathras. ‘Mukhya Sewadar’ Devprakash Madhukar and other organizers have been named as accused in the case registered at Sikandara Rao police station on Tuesday night.
An eyewitness in the Hathras stampede incident, Shakuntala Devi said, “There was a Satsang of Bhole Baba going on. Right after the Satsang finished, several people started coming out from there. A stampede took place as the road was uneven and people fell on each other…”
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday vowed a thorough investigation into the incident to determine whether it was an “accident or a conspiracy.”
CM Yogi affirmed that the state government is committed to uncovering the truth behind the Hathras incident.
“Doing politics instead of expressing condolences on such an incident is extremely unfortunate and condemnable. The government is already sensitive in this matter and the government will get to the bottom of this matter whether this is an accident or a conspiracy, and give appropriate punishment to all those responsible for this incident”, he said.
Chief Minister further said that to ensure a thorough investigation, a team has been formed under the chairmanship of Additional DG Agra, tasked with providing a detailed report.
Earlier today, the forensic team along with the dog squad reached the incident site in Hathras to collect the evidence as a part of their investigation.