Hathras stampede: 72 of 121 victims identified; police fail to trace 'Bhole Baba' who organised satsang | Onmanorama News

Hathras (Uttar Pradesh): In one of the worst tragedies in recent years, 121 people – 113 women, seven children and a man – were killed in a stampede at a religious congregation here on Tuesday, as worshippers suffocated and bodies were piled on top of each other.
Of the 121 victims, 72 have been identified so far, though postmortems of the bodies are underway in Agra, Etah, Kasganj and Aligarh, authorities said. The exact cause of the stampede is still under investigation.

The victims were part of a crowd of thousands who had gathered near Phulrai village in Sikandrarau district for religious preacher Bhole Baba's satsang. The stampede took place around 3:30 pm as Baba was leaving the venue. Police conducted search operations at Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri district for Baba, who is absconding after the incident.

“Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked district officials to ensure that the injured are hospitalised quickly and expedite rescue efforts.
He also ordered a thorough investigation into the incident to determine the underlying causes and prevent such tragedies from happening again.

Sakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba, formerly known as Saurabh Kumar, worked in the intelligence department of the Uttar Pradesh Police. After 17 years of service, he left his job to embark on a spiritual journey as a preacher. He is often seen giving classes in a white suit and tie. He conducts satsang programmes with his wife and is also known as the 'Sakar Vishwa Hari Baba of Patiali'.

Although his followers extend beyond Uttar Pradesh to Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the preacher and his acolytes maintain a distance from the media and social media.
According to a devotee, Bhole Baba had no religious mentor and soon after he took voluntary retirement from service, he had a 'vision' of divinity and since then he turned to spiritual activities.
He used to hold his satsangs every Tuesday and before Hathras, he organised a similar event in Mainpuri district last week.

He sparked controversy during the COVID-19 pandemic when he sought permission to hold a satsang in Farrukhabad district in May 2022, which would be attended by only 50 people.
However, the congregation grew to over 50,000 members, posing a major problem for the local administration.

The Prime Minister's Office announced an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 200,000 from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for the kin of each person killed in the stampede. The injured will get Rs 50,000. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath made a similar announcement.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in a post on X that he was deeply distressed by the tragic incident. “Deeply distressed by the tragic loss of lives in a stampede in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. Heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured,” he wrote on the social media platform.
(With PTI, IANS inputs)