In one of the worst tragedies in recent years, as many as 121 people were killed in a stampede at a 'satsang' in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras district on Tuesday as devotees suffocated to their deaths and bodies piled atop each other. Of the 121 bodies, at least 72 have been identified so far even as the post-mortem of the bodies is being held at Agra, Etah, Kasganj and Aligarh, officials said.


Meanwhile, Narayan Saakar Hari alias ‘Bhole Baba’, the preacher at whose religious congregation the tragedy struck, issued a statement on Wednesday saying the chaos erupted at the event long time after he had already left the venue.


Meanwhile, the Bhole Baba is still absconding. "We did not find Baba ji inside the campus...He is not here..." said Sunil Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Hathras).


The police have, meanwhile, conducted search operations at Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri district in search of the godman who previously served in the Intelligence department of Uttar Pradesh Police.


The ‘satsang’ of Lord Shiva was being held in Ratibhanpur for which a huge crowd had gathered to listen to the religious discourse. The stampede took place around 3.30 pm on Tuesday when Bhole Baba was leaving the venue. The exact cause of the incident is still under investigation.


Hathras Stampede Latest Updates:


CM Adityanath's Promises Action: Chief Minister Gogi Adityanath slammed the Opposition leaders for 'politicising' the Hathras stampede incident and alleged that Narayan Saakar Hari alias ‘Bhole Baba’ has political connections. 


Addressing media after meeting the victims of the tragic incident, CM Yogi said, "Some people have the tendency to politicise such sad and painful incidents. These people have the nature of 'chori bhi aur seenazori bhi'. Everyone knows with whom the gentleman's (preacher) photos are and with whom he has political connections. You must have seen that during the rallies in the past days, where was the stampede and who was behind it? It is necessary for us to know about it. Those who play with the lives of innocent people will be held accountable for this."


Ex Gratia Announced: Meanwhile, CM Yogi Adityanath has also announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to those injured in the incident.


Death Toll At 121: As per the Office of the Relief Commissioner, the death toll in Hathras incident is at 121 while 28 others are injured.


Earlier, Aligarh Range IG Shalabh Mathur said, "Twenty-seven bodies are at a mortuary in Etah, while the rest are in Hathras. The bodies are being sent for post-mortem to different hospitals."


He said that the administration is working hard to ensure that the injured get the best possible treatment. 


Earlier, Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh, while giving details of the casualties to journalists, said that out of the 116 victims, seven are children, one man and the rest are women. 


FIR Registered: An FIR has been registered and the names of the organisers of the event will be added to it, Mathur said, adding that it appears prima facie that there were more people than the permissible limit at the 'satsang'.


Forensic Team on Site: The Forensic Team is at the incident site in Hathras, where a stampede took place yesterday.BJP MP from Hathras, Anoop Pradhan also met victims at district hospital.


Possible Cause Of Stampede: Citing local sources, news agency IANS reported that the stampede occurred as the event concluded when some people tried to move out of the pandal amid the humid conditions while others tried to push them back, leading to confusion and chaos.


The sources added that the servitors of Bhole Baba reportedly stopped people from leaving the venue amid the heat and humidity, so that the preacher and his retinue could leave first.


Akhilesh Slams UP Govt: Reacting to the tragic incident, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav slammed the state government for not taking enough safety measures for the religious congregation. 


"We were inside the Parliament when we got information about the tragic incident. How can so many people die? What was the state government doing? If such a huge gathering was planned, the government should have made proper arrangements right from the start of the event. The state government is responsible for this and should now help the families of the victims and take care of the injured," Akhilesh Yadav said after coming out of the Parliament.


PM Expresses Grief: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also spoken to Yogi Adityanath regarding the tragic incident.


"The UP government is engaged in providing all possible help to all the victims. My condolences are with those who have lost their loved ones in this. Along with this, I wish for the speedy recovery of all the injured," he posted on X after the phone call.


World Mourn Loss of Lives: Envoys of several countries, including Germany, France and China, mourned the loss of lives in a stampede in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras on Tuesday and extended condolences to the victims' families.  


German envoy Philipp Ackermann in a post on X in the evening offered condolences to the families that lost their loved ones in the stampede and said he was deeply saddened about the tragic incident. 


Later on Tuesday night, Chinese envoy Xu Feihong also took to X to mourn the loss of lives in the incident. 


About Bhole Baba: According to locals, Suraj Pal, or Bhole Baba, as he is called by his followers, hails from Bahadur Nagar in the Patiyali area of Kasganj district. He left his job in the state police 17 years ago to become a preacher.


According to a devotee, Bhole Baba had no religious mentor and soon after he took voluntary retirement from service, he had a 'vision' of the deity and since then he became inclined to spiritual pursuits. He used to hold his 'satsangs' every Tuesday and before Hathras, he held a similar event in Mainpuri district last week.


He courted controversy during the Covid pandemic period when he sought permission for a satsang in Farrukhabad district in May 2022 to be attended by only 50 people. However, the congregation grew to over 50,000, causing a major headache for the local administration.