A 3,200-page charge sheet was filed by the authorities on Wednesday in connection with the 2nd July stampede that occurred at the Narayan Sakar Hari “Bhole Baba” congregation in Phulrai hamlet of Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras. Notably, the majority of the 121 fatalities were women and children. Eleven individuals have been charged, including two women sevadars (volunteers). However, Surajpal Singh, the self-styled ‘godman’ popularly known as Bhole Baba was not listed as an accused.
The primary organiser of the event, Dev Prakash Madhukar, Megh Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Manju Devi, Manju Yadav, Ram Ladhete, Upendra Singh, Sanju Kumar, Ram Prakash Shakya, Durvesh Kumar, and Dalveer Singh are the people against whom the charge sheet has been filed. These names were also mentioned in the First Information Report (FIR).
“Mukhya Sewadar” Madhukar is the primary accused, according to the charge sheet. He was named the prime culprit in the complaint filed at the Sikandra Rau police station in the Hathras district. He was charged with deceiving the authorities by obtaining authorization for an 80,000-person gathering of devotees when in fact over 2.5 lakh people attended the religious assembly in Phulrai village.
Ashok Kumar Singh, additional superintendent of police, announced that the court had received the charge sheet against the eleven defendants. The state government established a judicial panel and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on 3rd July to look into the incident. Eleven people, including those in charge of obtaining the event’s permits, were charged by the SIT. Manju Devi and Manju Yadav, two of the accused, received bail after Allahabad High Court’s orders.
The next date of the case’s hearing is 4th October where the accused will receive copies of the charge sheet that was submitted to the Hathras Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court. “Out of the 11 named and arrested in the case, two of the women accused, Manju Devi and Manju Yadav, have obtained interim bail from the Allahabad high court but only one is out of jail as, in the case of Manju Yadav, bail bonds are to be submitted,” stated AP Singh, a Delhi-based lawyer who is representing the accused.
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