After the Uttar Pradesh police carried out a search operation at Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri district in search of ‘Bhole Baba’, who held a Satsang in Hathras where a stampede took place claiming the lives of around 120 people, Deputy Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar revealed that Baba ji was not found inside the campus.
“We did not find Baba ji inside the campus…He is not here…” said Deputy SP Sunil Kumar.
Mainpuri police are guarding the ‘Ashram’ of Bhole Baba currently and entry and exit of Ashram inmates, as well as devotees from outside, are restricted, as per reports.
Aligarh DM Vishak G Iyer said that as many as 23 bodies have been brought to Aligarh and a total of three injured people are receiving treatment and out of them one is in critical condition.
“A total of 23 bodies have been brought to Aligarh…Three injured people from the Hathras incident are getting treatment at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College. Out of them, two are in stable condition whereas one is in critical condition. We have talked to the hospital administration and the procedure to take the (critical) patient to the ICU is underway…” said Aligarh DM Vishak G Iyer.
Hathras Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Manjeet Singh said that the procedure of identifying the bodies brought is underway. 19 out of a total of 32 have been identified.
“A total of 116 people have died so far…32 bodies were brought here and 19 of them have been identified. We are identifying the rest of them…” said Hathras Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Manjeet Singh.
Congress MP KL Sharma appealed to the state government that when such events are organised, they should ensure the proper safety of the people.
“I want to appeal to the state government that if such events are organised, they should also take care of the preparation and ensure proper safety of the people. I got to know that several women have lost their lives. The compensation amount should have been more, keeping the condition of the family in mind…” said Congress MP KL Sharma.
Reacting to the same incident, Congress MP Imran Masood said, “There are 32 bodies here and nine injured people, including one female police officer. A lot of them are yet to be identified…Right now, everyone is focused on providing relief to those who have suffered…”
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary called the Hathras incident “unfortunate”.”
Speaking to reporters, Samrat Choudhary said, “It is extremely unfortunate. The government is reviewing it. It is unfortunate that so many people lost their lives…”
Meanwhile, an eyewitness in the Hathras stampede incident, Shakuntala Devi said, “There was a Satsang of Bhole Baba going on. Right after the Satsang finished, several people started coming out from there. A stampede took place as the road was uneven and people fell on each other…”
(With inputs from ANI)