Rahul Gandhi Meets Hathras Stampede Victims' Families, Assures Full Support From Congress: WATCH

UP Congress chief Ajay Rai, state Congress in-charge Avinash Pande, party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate and other office bearers are accompanying Rahul Gandhi to Hathras.

Rahul Gandhi to meet families of Hathras stampede victims today.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi reached the residence of the families of Hathras stampede victims in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh on Friday morning. The Congress leader left for Hathras in the early morning of Friday to meet the families of victims of the stampede that killed 123 people. The stampede occurred during a 'satsang' on Tuesday by religious preacher Narayan Saakar Hari, also known as 'Bhole Baba'. 

State Congress in-charge Avinash Pande, party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate and other office bearers are also accompanying Gandhi to Hathras, apart from Rai. 

Meeting the families, the Congress MP assured that the party will support them.  

"He told us that he would help us with the help of the party... He asked us how everything happened...," said a member of a breaved family while speaking to reporters after the meeting. 

#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi reaches the residence of a victim of the Hathras stampede, in Aligarh. pic.twitter.com/zDVJ3ydR9o

— ANI (@ANI) July 5, 2024

Ahead of Rahul's visit, another member of a breaved family said he would tell him whatever he would ask. He told that his younger daughter breathed her last in the lap of his elder daughter as both got stuck in the crowd.  

On Thursday, the Uttar Pradesh police conducted a search operation at Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri for 'Bhole Baba', the self-styled godman. 

#WATCH | Hathras Stampede Accident | Aligarh, UP: After Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi's visit, a member of a bereaved family says, "He told us that he would help us with the help of the party... He asked us how everything happened..." pic.twitter.com/umc6rS6NZX

— ANI (@ANI) July 5, 2024

An FIR has been registered with the incident, naming the event organisers but the preacher has not been mentioned. 

After conducting searches at the Baba's hamlet, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mainpuri Sunil Kumar said the former was not " found inside the ashram." "There are 40-50 sevadars inside the ashram. He ('Bhole Baba') is not inside, neither he was yesterday nor he is today..." said Kumar. 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited Hathras on Wednesday where he held a meeting with the officials and took stock of the situation. He also visited Hathras Medical College where he met the injured who were admitted there. 

A three-member Judicial Inquiry Commission has been constituted under the chairmanship of Justice (retd) Brijesh Kumar Srivastava to ensure comprehensiveness of the subject matter and transparency in the inquiry, according to an official statement.

The Commission will probe various aspects of the incident in the next two months and submit a report to the State Government after the investigation.