Stampede kills 116 in India's Uttar Pradesh, 72 bodies identified

iNDICA PRESS OFFICE-

In one of the worst tragedies in recent years, 116 people were killed Tuesday in a stampede at a religious congregation in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, as worshippers suffocated and bodies were piled on top of each other.

Of the 116 bodies, 72 have been identified so far. Post-mortems are underway in Agra, Etah, Kasganj and Aligarh districts, authorities said. The exact cause of the stampede is still under investigation.

Manjeet Singh, chief medical officer of Hathras, said: “Thirty-two bodies have been brought here and 19 of them have been identified. We are in the process of identifying the rest.”

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

Meanwhile, police conducted search operations at Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri district in search of 'Bhole Baba', who was holding a religious discourse in Hathras where the stampede took place. The Satsang was allegedly held by Sakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba, formerly known as Saurabh Kumar.

Godman had earlier served 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 organizes satsang programs along with his wife and is also known as '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 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.