6 ‘sevadars’ held over Hathras stampede, preacher still at large
Those arrested were Ram Ladaite (50), Upendra ingh Yadav (62), Megh Singh (61), Mukesh Kumar (38), and women Manju Yadav (30) and Manju Devi (40).
The Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday arrested six people in connection with the stampede during a religious gathering in Hathras earlier this week, which claimed 121 lives, officials said, adding that self-styled godman “Bhole Baba”, whom hundreds of thousands flocked to see ahead of the deadly tragedy and remains at large, will be interrogated if required.
While those arrested are ‘sevadars’ or volunteers of the event, a search is underway to nab key accused and ‘mukhya sevadar’ (head volunteer) Devprakash Madhukar, who also went missing after the stampede, the deadliest in India since 2008. A reward of ₹1 lakh will be announced for information on Madhukar and a non-bailable warrant (NBW) will also be issued against him, the officials added.
“All six people who have been arrested worked as ‘sevadars’. They were arrested by officials of Hathras Kotwali and Sikandra Rau police stations. A reward of ₹1 lakh will be announced soon and NBW will also be issued against key accused Madhukar,” inspector general of police (Aligarh Range) Shalabh Mathur said.
Those arrested were Ram Ladaite (50), Upendra ingh Yadav (62), Megh Singh (61), Mukesh Kumar (38), and women Manju Yadav (30) and Manju Devi (40) – all from Mainpuri, Firozabad and Hathras.
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“During the course of interrogation, police learnt that the arrested people are members of the organising committee and work as ‘sevadars’. They also followed a dress code while working as ‘sevadars’. On the day of the incident, the ‘sevadars’ tried to stop the crowd from proceeding towards Baba’s vehicle (when he was leaving). They later left the crowd to take ‘charan dhul’ (dust left from feet),” Mathur said.
“These ‘sevadars’ made sure people did not prepare any videos and also did not allow police intervention in the internal cordon (at the event venue),” he added.
At least 121 people, most of them women and children, were killed in the stampede on Tuesday afternoon as they attempted to leave the haphazardly organised ‘satsang’ by “Bhole Baba”, a 65-year-old-man originally named Suraj Pal, a former cop, who remains at large. The event was held at a partially covered field in Phulari Mughal Garhi, a village roughly 200km from Delhi, and far from any major centre with medical facilities to handle a mass casualty event.
Around 250,000 people attended the event, beyond the allotted permission of 80,000, underlining a string of lapses by the organisers and administration. The tragedy is the deadliest such incident in India since 2008 when 162 people died in a stampede in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh.
Explained: What happened in Hathras? All you need to know about Bhole Baba, stampede
On Wednesday, chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced a judicial investigation led by a retired high court judge, even as “Bhole Baba” blamed “anti-social elements” for the stampede. Police filed an FIR against Madhukar and unnamed organisers of the religious congregation under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 126 (2) (wrongful restraint), 223 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by the public servant), 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Asked about “Bhole Baba’s” role, Mathur said the role of any person will be ascertained on the basis of evidence. “The arrests will depend upon the investigating officer and evidence collected. A judicial inquiry has been ordered. The police force, civil police, fire department personnel and PAC (Pradeshik Armed Constabulary) were also deployed at the site. Baba is not named in the FIR and organisers, who have taken permission for the event, have been named as they hold responsibility for the event,” he said.
“Baba took voluntary retirement from the post of head constable in 2000 while he was posted in Agra. There was an FIR registered against him in Agra’s Shahganj police station and he was acquitted later. We are trying to trace other cases at the zone level and see if any FIR is registered in other states,” he added.
Mathur’s remarks came as a team of police entered the ashram premises of “Bhole Baba” in Mainpuri to check security arrangements, officials said. “He (Baba) was neither there yesterday (Wednesday) nor today,” circle officer Sunil Kumar Singh said.
Asked why police personnel entered the ashram, he said, “We are not here for a probe. We are here to check security.”
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav hit out at Adityanath for suspecting a “conspiracy” behind the tragedy. “Look, there can’t be a conspiracy in this. The conspiracy could be that the government wants to run away from its responsibility,” he said.