Religious Congregations

During his visit to Singapore next week, Pope Francis will use two handmade chairs crafted by an Indian-origin carpenter here for his inter-religious dialogue sessions. The chairs are made by 44-year-old Govindharaj Muthiah, who took his passion for woodworking full-time in 2019, according to a Channel News Asia report last week. Muthiah said when he received the fortuitous call from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore around end-July, he did not expect to be presented with the coolest addition to his CV to date. Even though he completed both "100 per cent handmade" chairs within a whirlwind month, Muthiah said the news of being assigned to do the chairs still had not sunk in. When I got the call, the first question was: Hi, we knew you do furniture. We were introduced by someone.' And they asked if I could make a chair. I was like, Okay, do you have the dimensions? I'll work on it,' he told CNA. Then (the caller) said, No it's more than that, there's a lot of specific ...

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said no new tradition should be started during festivals that can hurt the sentiments of people from other religions and strict action should be taken against anarchic elements to ensure peace and harmony. Anarchy cannot be accepted in the name of religious events, Adityanath said at a high-level meeting on Monday evening. "Necessary facilities should be made available to the general public during festivals so that every festival is celebrated in peace and harmony. Respect religious faith, but there should not be any incident that hurts the sentiments of people of other religions," he was quoted as saying in an official statement. He directed the officials to "deal strictly with anarchic elements". The meeting reviewed the ongoing efforts to ensure the safety and convenience of the public as well as the protection of crops and livestock during floods, the statement said. The chief minister said that in the last few days, there

Devprakash Madhukar, the key accused in the July 2 Hathras stampede, was on Saturday sent to 14-day judicial custody by a magistrate court, officials said. Besides, Sanju Yadav, another suspect who has been arrested in connection with the case, was also sent to jail for the same duration, they said. Earlier in the day, Hathras Superintendent of Police Nipun Agarwal told reporters that the police would apply in the court to get the remand of Madhukar and other suspects. "Devprakash Madhukar and Sanju Yadav were produced before the judicial magistrate's court today and both were sent in judicial remand for 14 days," Assistant Prosecution Officer Uma Shankar Yadav told reporters. The APO said Ramprakash Shakya, who too has been arrested in the stampede case, would be produced in the court on Sunday since he was arrested after Madhukar and Yadav and has some police formalities pending. Madhukar was arrested from Delhi's Najafgarh area late on Friday night by a Special Operations Group

Devprakash Madhukar, the main accused in the July 2 Hathras stampede that killed 121 people, was arrested from Delhi's Najafgarh area by a Special Operations Group of Hathras police, officials said on Saturday. Madhukar, who was arrested late night on Friday, was contacted by some political parties recently, Hathras Superintendent of Police Nipun Agarwal said. Agarwal said Madhukar worked as a fundraiser for events of self-styled godman Surajpal alias Narayan Sakar Hari alias Bhole Baba and collected donations. The police will apply for remand of Madhukar, he said. "His financial transactions, money trails are being looked into, and call detail records also being checked," Agarwal added. However, on Friday night, Madhukar's lawyer A P Singh had claimed he had surrendered to the police in Delhi, where he had come for medical treatment. Around 2.15 pm on Saturday, Madhukar was brought by the police to the Bagla Combined District Hospital in Hathras for a medical examination amid hea

An FIR has been registered on the incident naming organizers of the prayer meeting but 'Bhole Baba' has not been named yet

The 147th edition of the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath will take place on July 7 in Ahmedabad where more than 18,000 security personnel will be deployed to guard the event which draws lakhs of devotees, officials said. Senior police officials will keep a close watch on the procession using 1,733 body-worn cameras linked to a control room. Besides, 20 drones and 96 surveillance cameras have been installed at 47 locations on the route, an official release said on Wednesday. Nearly 1,400 CCTV cameras installed by shopkeepers on the route will also be used for live surveillance, it said. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Wednesday reviewed the security preparedness for the mega religious event at a meeting which was attended by various officials including Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi and Director General of Police Vikas Sahay. Ahmedabad Commissioner of Police GS Malik made an elaborate presentation during the meeting on various security aspects of the Rath .

Chaos caused after Narayan Sakaar Hari's followers, who tried to reach near his vehicle to seek "darshan", were pushed by the godman's security and a "slippery slope" resulted in the stampede that killed 121 people in Hathras, a preliminary report of the SDM said. Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Sikandra Rao submitted the preliminary report on the stampede to the district magistrate (DM). The SDM, who gave permission for the 'satsang' (religious congregation), was also present at the venue when the incident occurred, according to the report. "A crowd of more than 2 lakh people was present in the satsang pandal. Shri Narayan Sakar Hari (Bhole Baba) reached the satsang pandal at about 12.30 pm and the program went on for 1 hour. "After this, at about 1.40 pm, Shri Narayan Sakaar Hari (Bhole Baba) came out of the pandal to go towards Etah on National Highway-91," the preliminary report said, adding that when the godman was leaving the venue, his followers started running towards him f

Asphyxia due to compression was the leading cause of death among the victims of the Hathras stampede who were brought to the district hospital in neighbouring Etah on Tuesday, a senior doctor said. The hospital performed four times the usual number of autopsies in a day in the aftermath of the stampede, he said. As many as 27 bodies were brought to the mortuary of the district hospital here after the stampede at Hathras' Phulrai village on Tuesday. The overall toll stood at 121 and bodies were taken to various hospitals in nearby areas including Etah and Aligarh. "Of the 27 bodies brought here, the post-mortem of 19 was concluded while the mortuary staff prepared for the 20th autopsy around midnight," Etah's Additional Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ram Mohan Tiwari told PTI. Six bodies remained to be identified, he said. "Asphyxia due to compression was found to be the cause of death in almost all the cases," Tiwari said, adding a majority of the victims were women in the 40-50 age ..

The death toll in the stampede at a religious congregation in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras has risen to 121, a senior official said on Wednesday. According to the Office of the Relief Commissioner, the number of people injured in Tuesday's incident stands at 28. Of the total fatalities, 19 are yet to be identified, it said. The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday registered an FIR against the organisers of the religious congregation. On Tuesday Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Manoj Kumar Singh put the death toll at 116. Barring seven children and a man, all the casualties were women. The victims were part of the crowd of thousands that had gathered near Phulrai village in the Sikandrarau area for the 'satsang' by religious preacher Bhole Baba. The stampede took place at around 3.30 pm when Baba was leaving the venue.

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday lodged an FIR against the organisers of the religious congregation in Hathras where 121 people died in a stampede, accusing them of hiding evidence and flouting conditions with 2.5 lakh people gathering for the event in which only 80,000 were permitted. However, the congregation or 'satsang' conductor Jagat Guru Saakar Vishwahari has not been named in the FIR though his name is in the complaint. The FIR alleged that the organisers hid the actual number of devotees coming to the 'satsang' while seeking permission, did not cooperate in traffic management and hid evidence after the stampede, which broke out after people gathered there stopped to collect mud from the way the baba's vehicle was passing. The FIR apparently gave a clean chit to the police and administration, saying they did whatever possible from the available resources. 'Mukhya sevadar' Devprakash Madhukar and other organisers have been named in the first information report (FIR) fil

More than 3.40 lakh devotees have taken a holy dip in the Ganga here till Tuesday evening on the occasion of Mahashivratri, an official said.

All religious institutions including temples, mosques, churches and others can reopen for the public in the state capital from August 23

After the Uttarakhand government decided to cancel the Kanwar Yatra this year, Haridwar police said that borders of state will remain sealed and a Quick Reaction Team of police will also be deployed.

All religious programmes and congregations, including those of the upcoming Kanwar Yatra and Eid-ul-Zuha, have been banned in Rajasthan as part of state government's efforts to curb spread of Covid-19

50 people can offer namaz five times a day: HC

It said that as on October 16, 2020, the total population affected by Covid in Maharashtra was 15,76,062 and the total number of deaths registered on account of the virus are 41,502

Unlock 1.0: Here are the guidelines that worshippers and religious institutions need to follow from June 8

The action by the CBI comes a day after the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police filed 12 fresh chargesheets naming 541 foreign nationals in connection with the Tablighi Jamaat case

Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal also said that 30 lakh have downloaded the government's 'AarogyaSetu' mobile app to help people assess risk of Covid-19

The president emphasized the need to ensure that no one remains hungry during the nationwide lockdown