 "Hathras stampede updates: Rahul Gandhi visits Aligarh; Bhole Baba missing")
Hathras stampede news: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday visited Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, where a stampede took place at a religious event in Hathras district on Tuesday killing 121 people, mostly women.
A video emerged on social media, showing Gandhi interacting with the families of the deceased and injured victims and receiving assurances from Gandhi.
Hathras stampede latest updates:
1) Following his visit, Gandhi urged the Yogi Adityanath government to increase the compensation amount for the victims as they are from poor families.
2) "I request UP CM Yogi Adityanath to provide compensation open-heartedly. If there is a delay in the compensation, it will not benefit anyone...," he said.
3) “He (Rahul Gandhi) assured us that he will help us in every possible way through his party,” a local, whose sister-in-law died in the stampede, told news agency PTI.
4) She alleged poor administration at the satsang, held by a cop-turned-preacher named Saakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba, who has now gone missing, according to the police officials.
“My sister-in-law could have been saved,” she said.
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5) When the police entered the ashram premises of the Baba located in UP’s Mainpuri on Thursday, he wasn’t present there. The police had visited the ashram to check security arrangements.
6) An FIR has been lodged in the case against the organisers of the event, who are accused of mismanagement and flouting norms. Bhole Baba has not been named in the FIR.
7) The police said that about 2.5 lakh people had turned up for the satsang when the permission had been sought for about 80,000. Unprecedented footfall coupled with other factors led to a stampede at the event when the Baba was leaving the venue, UP CM Adityanath said in a press conference earlier.
8) On the FIR, he said that prima facie the case has been filed against the organisers. “Whoever is responsible for this will come under its purview,” he assured when asked about the preacher not being named in the complaint. He also paid a visit to the stampede site in Sikandra and met the families of the victims on Thursday.
9) According to Adityanath, the stampede occurred when a group of women approached the preacher’s convoy of vehicles, attempting to touch him, triggering a chain reaction of more people pushing forward, resulting in the tragedy.
10) A three member judicial panel has been appointed by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led UP government to investigate the incident.
9) Meanwhile, the baba’s lawyer issued the first statement for his client following the incident, alleging ‘conspiracy’, something which has not been ruled out by Adityanath either.
10) Supreme Court lawyer AP Singh blamed “anti-social elements” for the tragedy and refuted the charge that the stampede was caused as the people rushed to collect the soil touched by Bhole Baba’s feet. He contradicted the findings of the preliminary report saying that the baba never lets anyone touch his feet and that the mention of ‘charan raj’ is “false.”