More than 50 people, predominantly women, lost their lives in a stampede during a religious event in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district on Tuesday. The tragic incident occurred at Ratibhanpur village, Sikandra Rau tehsil, during a satsang led by religious preacher Narain Sakar Hari, known as Bhole Baba, and his wife. Bhole Baba has been conducting these events under the Sakaar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba banner for over two decades.
Inspector General of Police, Aligarh range, Shalabh Mathur, stated that the gathering had temporary permission and was held on the border of Etah and Hathras districts. Umesh Kumar Tripathi, Chief Medical Officer of Etah, confirmed, “We have 27 bodies at the Etah Medical College mortuary, including 25 women and two men. Approximately 150 injured are being treated here.”
The overwhelming number of patients exhausted the medical college’s capacity, forcing authorities to request beds from private hospitals, said Rajesh Kumar, Senior Superintendent of Police, Etah. Relief and rescue operations are ongoing on a war footing.
An estimated 15,000 people attended the satsang. The exact cause of the stampede remains unclear, but most fatalities resulted from suffocation, according to police.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has formed an inquiry team, including the additional director general, Agra Zone, and police commissioner, Aligarh, to investigate the causes of the Hathras stampede. Bhole Baba, a former government employee from Bahadur Nagri village, has been active in the region for nearly 27 years, organizing religious gatherings and preaching.
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