On Friday, July 5, Uttar Pradesh Police arrested the main accused in the Hathras stampede case, Mukhya Sewadar Dev Prakash Madhukar, an aide of Surajpal alias Bhole Baba, from Delhi. Madhukar surrendered before the Police in Delhi, as per his lawyer AP Singh. He was arrested from Najafgarh.
Hathras Superintendent of Police Nipun Agarwal confirmed Madhukar’s arrest and added that he was being brought to Hathras to be presented in the court there. Madhukar is the only accused named in the FIR while there are 21 unnamed accused. Earlier, 6 other sevadars of the satsang were also arrested by the Hathras Police.
Madhukar’s lawyer AP Singh said, “Madhukar is a heart patient and was undergoing treatment in Delhi. After doctors said that his condition is okay, we got him handed over to the police.” He further added that Madhukar’s health should be taken care of in custody and that they did not file any anticipatory bail plea.
Hathras stampede tragedy
On Tuesday, July 2, a stampede at a private religious event in Hathras claimed 121 lives, leaving many others injured. The stampede took place during a Satsang for Sant Bhole Baba. Most of the dead in the tragedy are women.
A religious congregation was organised at Phulrai village in the district in which a large number of devotees were present. There was a stampede at the end of the congregation when hundreds of devotees tried to leave the venue together leading to a stampede.
The venue was small and overcrowded. Because of the suffocation in small areas in hot and humid weather, the devotees rushed out as soon as the Satsang ended, leading to the stampede.
