Hathras stampede: Police constable deployed at event shares ordeal

The constable, who was hospitalised due to injuries, had been stationed at the front of the stage in the event on July 2.

Published on: Jul 4, 2024, 14:14:54 IST

By HT News Desk

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Sheela Maurya, a police constable deployed at Bhole Baba's event in Hathras, said on Thursday that the stampede took place because of overcrowding. The injured police personnel said a large number of people together rushed to exit the venue of the event, leading to the incident.

Shoes are pictured where a stampede killed people during a sermon at Hathras in Uttar Pradesh on July 3, 2024. (AFP)

Also Read: Hathras stampede: UP to compensate devotees from three other states too

The constable, who was hospitalised due to injuries, had been stationed at the front of the stage in the event on July 2.

Also Read: Hathras stampede Highlights: UP govt forms judicial panel to conduct probe

“There was too large a crowd there. There was also a lot of heat. People started to want to leave but ended up toppling over each other. I saw many women falling and headed out towards the street to help them," she told ANI.

Also Read: What happened in Hathras? All you need to know about Bhole Baba, stampede

"I tried to help many women up and then ended up falling over myself. I got injured quite a lot," she added.

When asked about why she thought this situation occurred, she simply pointed towards the crowd and the fact that everyone was leaving the venue at the same time.

She also added that there had been rains, the ground was muddy and it was hard for people to get out. “There are farmlands there, that's how people tried to make it out," she added.

Maurya narrates that there was only hopelessness in the scene, and she was only trying to save people but succumbed to the stampede herself. “It was very difficult to survive, all around me people were falling," she told news agency ANI.

UP CM Yogi Adityanath had also visited Maurya and listened to her about what had happened at the Hathras event.

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