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Hathras stampede case: Rahul Gandhi calls out 'deficiencies' after meeting victims' kin
Hathras stampede case: The incident took place at an event dedicated to preacher Bhole Baba.
Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, on Friday visited Hathras and met with the families of stampede victims. He said the kin of the deceased told him that adequate police arrangements had not been made for the religious event, which led to the stampede.
121 people, mostly women, died in the Hathras stampede on Tuesday.
Rahul Gandhi said he didn't want to politicise the tragedy. He demanded more compensation for the families of those who died.
"It is a sad incident. Several people have died. I don't want to say this from a political prism but there have been deficiencies on the part of the administration and the important thing is that maximum compensation should be given as they are poor families. I request UP CM Yogi Adityanath to provide compensation open-heartedly. If there is a delay in the compensation, it will not benefit anyone. I had a personal conversation with the family members of the deceased and they told me that there was no police arrangement. They are in shock and I just wanted to understand their situation...," Rahul Gandhi said after the meeting, reported ANI.
Congress leader Danish Ali, who accompanied Gandhi, said the UP government wasn't taking the tragedy seriously.
Also read: Did suffocation lead to Hathras stampede? What police, eyewitnesses say
"This is an unfortunate incident. We left at 5 am with Rahul Gandhi. The stories of the victims are heart-wrenching… Neither any responsibility of the administration has been fixed nor the government is taking this seriously," he said.
The stampede took place at a religious event dedicated to preacher Bhole Baba. The UP police have arrested six organisers of the event. However, the main accused is absconding.
Bhole Baba hasn't been named in the FIR.
Rahul Gandhi left for Hathras early Friday morning. He visited two Aligarh villages on the way, where he met with the families who lost their loved ones in the stampede.
The UP government has constituted a probe panel under a retired Allahabad high court judge. The Congress has demanded a judicial probe under a serving judge.
