Hathras Stampede: Two Women Among Six Arrested, Bhole Baba's Criminal History Being Investigated

Shalabh Mathur, IG of Aligarh, in the press conference said that the organiser of the event is among the six people who have been held for negligence that led to the stampede.

Upendra, Manju Yadav and Mukesh Kumar are among those who have been arrested. 

Six people have been arrested in the Hatras stampede tragedy where 121 people have been killed, the Hathras police said in a press conference on Thursday. 

Shalabh Mathur, IG of Aligarh, in the press conference said that the organiser of the event is among the six people who have been held for negligence that led to the stampede.

A total of 121 people, mostly women, died and 31 were injured in the stampede at the preacher Baba Bhole's satsang in Hathras on Tuesday.  

Mathur also said that the police is enquiring 'Bhole Baba's' criminal history. He said that permission for the event was not taken in his name.  

#WATCH | On Hathras stampede incident, Aligarh IG Shalabh Mathur says, "We are inquiring about 'Bhole Baba's' criminal history. Permission for the event was not taken in his name. " pic.twitter.com/5mvGjDLeCY

— ANI (@ANI) July 4, 2024

Those arrested have been identified by the police as Ram Ladaite (50), Upendra ingh Yadav (62), Megh Singh (61), Mukesh Kumar (38), and women Manju Yadav (30) and Manju Devi (40). They worked as sevadars at the satsang. 

The only accused named in the FIR is at large while Surajpal, who is also known as Narayan Sakar Hari and Bhole Baba, will be questioned if required during investigation, a senior officer said.

Meanwhile, a non-bailable warrant will be issued against Chief Sevadar Devprakash Madhukar and a award of Rs 1 lakh will be announced against him, the IG said.

Police alleged that the six people who have been arrested fled immediately after the incident and didn't cooperate in the investigation.

The preacher, Surajpal, was not mentioned as an accused in the FIR lodged at the local Sikandra Rau police station on Tuesday after the stampede at Phulrai village.  

The FIR was lodged on July 2 under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 126 (2) (wrongful restraint), 223 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by the public servant) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence). 

The bodies of all victims of the Hathras stampede have been identified and handed over to their families, District Magistrate Ashish Kumar said on Thursday. After the stampede, 21 bodies were taken to Agra, 28 to Etah, 34 were in Hathras and 38 in Aligarh, according to officials.