SIT blames organisers for Hathras stampede

LUCKNOW The organisers of the “satsang” that was held in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh last week were primarily responsible for the stampede, which left 121 people dead, a special investigation team (SIT) probing the deadly tragedy has said, according to officials aware of the details.

The two-member probe panel headed by Agra zone additional director general Anupam Kulshrestha, in its report submitted to the Yogi Adityanath-led government on Tuesday, also flagged several lapses on the part of the local administration, which subsequently led to the suspension of six officials, but did not rule out a “big conspiracy” behind the stampede – the deadliest in India since 2008.

The report, the officials said, did not make any mention of Suraj Pal, known to his followers as “Bhole Baba” or Narayan Hari Sakar, who hosted the event and earlier alleged the involvement of “anti-social elements”. “SIT has submitted its report to the government,” director of information Shishir said, without revealing the contents of the report.

At least 121 people, most of them women and children, were killed in the stampede on the afternoon of July 2 as they attempted to leave the religious gathering hosted by “Bhole Baba”, a former cop who has neither been named in a criminal case nor questioned over the incident. The event was held at a partially covered field in Phulari Mughal Garhi, a village roughly 200 km from Delhi, and far from any major centre with medical facilities to handle a mass casualty event. It saw the participation of 250,000 people as against the permitted limit of 80,000, officials said earlier.

The stampede was the deadliest in India since 2008, when 162 people died in a similar incident in Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh.

While the state police filed a first information report (FIR) against the organisers of the event, it did not name Pal in the case. Police earlier said Pal will be summoned for interrogation if required. Eleven people, including ‘mukhya sevadar’ (head volunteer) and key accused Devprakash Madhukar, have been arrested so far.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had ordered the formation of SIT, also comprising divisional commissioner Chaitra V, for a probe.

According to the officials cited above, SIT has held the organisers responsible for the stampede, claiming they did not make arrangements to manage the crowd. “In its preliminary investigation, SIT has held the event organisers primarily responsible for the stampede on the basis of eyewitnesses and other evidence. The panel did not rule out any big conspiracy behind the incident and has stressed on the need for a thorough investigation,” one of the officials said, seeking anonymity.

“The organisers took permission to organise the programme by hiding facts. The conditions applicable for permission were not followed. The organisers did not make adequate and smooth arrangements by inviting an unexpected crowd. Nor were the conditions of permission given by the local administration for the program followed,” the official added.

People associated with the organising committee have been found guilty of creating chaos, the official said, adding that they engaged volunteers without proper police verification. “The organising committee misbehaved with the police. An attempt was made to stop the local police from inspecting the event venue,” the official added.

A second official, who also declined to be named, said Pal was allowed to meet the crowd without any security arrangements. “Given the huge crowd, no barricading or passage arrangements were made and when the accident occurred, the members of the organising committee fled from the spot,” the official said.

SIT also found the tehsil-level police and administration guilty, the second official said. “The SDM of Sikandrarau granted permission for the event without inspecting the venue and did not even inform the senior officials. SIT recommended action against the concerned officials posted in Sikandrarao,” the official said.

Following the submission of the report, Sikandrarao SDM Ravindra Kumar, CO Anand Kumar, tehsildar Sushil Kumar, station officer (SO) Ashish Kumar, in-charges of Kachora and Pora outposts, Manveer Singh and Brijesh Pandey of Sikandrarao police station, respectively, were suspended for “negligence”. A third official said “though SIT has held the organisers responsible, it made no mention of Pal in their report”.

The probe committee recorded the statements of 125 individuals, mostly administrative and police officials, and eyewitnesses, before submitting its report. “Additionally, copies of news articles related to the incident, on-site videography, photographs, and video clippings were reviewed,” the second official said.