Hathras Stampede: Fresh details have emerged in the stampede incident in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras, which claimed the lives of 121 people and left 31 injured. Speaking on the incident, Uttar Pradesh Minister Jaiveer Singh said on Wednesday that Narayan Saakar Hari, alias ‘Bhole Baba’, the preacher at whose religious congregation the tragedy struck, was a highly influential figure.
Responding to a query about 'Bhole Baba', Singh told ABP News that he was so influential that even the police could not enter any of his functions. The minister further said that Narayan Saakar Hari used to work somewhere in the past, but he left the job later and started doing 'satsang'. Along with Hathras, 'Bhole Baba' used to make poor and exploited people his followers in districts like Mainpuri, Etah, Kasganj, he said.
On Wednesday, the Uttar Pradesh Police registered an FIR against the organisers of the religious congregation. 'Mukhya sevadar' Devprakash Madhukar and other organisers have been named in the first information report (FIR) filed at the Sikandara Rao police station late Tuesday, a senior officer told PTI.
The FIR has been registered 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), 238 (causing disappearance of evidence), the officer said.
In the FIR, the name of Narayan Saakar Hari, alias ‘Bhole Baba' was not mentioned and he continues to remain at large.
'Satsang' Organising Committe Had Six Members
On being asked about political connections and the FIR against the preacher, the BJP leader said that the report will come today and no one will be spared. According to ABP News sources, there were six members in the committee that organised the 'satsang'. The members were: Devprakash Madhukar, Chandra Dev, Ram Prakash, Anar Singh, Sanju Yadav, and Mahesh Chandra.
The sources said that Devprakash Madhukar was in charge of the organising committee. Most of the committee members are residents of the same colony, New Colony Damadpura.
ABP News tried reaching out to these four organisers, but they were not present in their homes for comment. However, the wife of Anar Singh, one of the organisers, told ABP News that she went to the venue where the 'satsang' was taking place, but when she saw that people were being taken to the ambulance, she returned.
She further stated that her husband was in the organising committee, but Madhukar was the chief, and she has not spoken to her husband since his phone is out of reach. The police came once, she added.