Hathras stampede: CCTV footage shows Bhole Baba's convoy leaving village after incident
At least 121 people died in a stampede during a Satsang held by ‘Bhole Baba’ in Hathras on July 2.
A closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage has emerged showing a convoy of self-styled preacher Baba Narayan Hari alias Saakar Vishwa Hari 'Bhole Baba' leaving the village where a stampede killed 121 people, mostly women devotees, PTI reported.
The footage shared by PTI shows several volunteers, also known as ‘Sevak’, standing on both sides of the road as Bhole Baba's convoy crosses.
The stampede took place on Tuesday when thousands of people gathered at a specially laid tent in the Rati Bhanpur village in the Sikandra Rau area of Hathras district for a ‘Satsang’ organised by the preacher.
The stampede started soon after the women rushed out of the venue after the religious congregation ended.
Gopal Kumar, an eyewitness, told Hindustan Times that the gathering ended around 2pm. “He [the Baba] entered and exited the site from a designated route, bypassing the gathering of women, men, and children. There were vehicles all around and a portion of the highway was almost jammed with devotees and vehicles,” said Kumar.
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He said as the Baba’s vehicle reached the highway, hundreds of devotees rushed towards his car for charan dhul (dust of his feet) and to get his blessings.
“A huge crowd rushed towards the highway and many of them could not climb up and slipped… as devotees fell, others rushing towards the highway did not bother and crushed them under their feet while trying to follow the Baba’s car. This led to the stampede and those who fell could not get up… they died and many of these were women.”
On Thursday, the Uttar Pradesh Police said that six people – all sevadars – have been arrested. Of the six, two are females and four males.
The police have also announced a ₹1 lakh bounty on the arrest of the main accused, identified as Prakash Madhukar.
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IG (Aligarh Range) Shalabh Mathur said that Bhole Baba's name is not mentioned in the FIR because permission for the religious event was not sought in his name.
“However, Bhole Baba will be interrogated if required, but it all depends on the course of the investigation…We are also probing reports of his criminal past,” the police said.