NEW DELHI: Two days after 121 persons were killed in a stampede during a religious congregation near Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, the state police today arrested six ‘sevadars’, including two women, of the organising committee even as self-styled godman Bhole Baba, aka Narayan Saakar Hari, is yet to be taken into custody.
The police have announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to the arrest of one Ved Prakash Madhukar, in whose name permission was taken to organise the ‘satsang’. The authorities had given permission for 80,000 people to gather, but more than 2.5 lakh people attended the event, an official said.
Addressing the media, Inspector General (Aligarh range) Shalabh Mathur said an investigation into the July 2 tragedy had just commenced and more arrests were likely once facts emerged. He said the “godman”, whose real name is Suraj Pal, was yet to be questioned.
“We will make arrests based on what the investigation reveals… If required, he will be questioned. It’s too early to say or comment on his role. He hasn’t been named in the FIR, which has held the organisers responsible. The permission was taken by an organising committee and its members have been arrested,” he said.
The permission was taken in the name of Ved Prakash Madhukar and teams had been constituted to arrest him, said Mathur. “If the role of other persons is revealed during Madhukar’s questioning, we will take action accordingly,” he said.
On earlier cases lodged against the Pal, who has also been accused of sexual assault, Mathur said from what was known so far, the “godman” was a head constable with the UP Police and took voluntary retirement from service in 2000 while being posted in Agra. “Soon after, an FIR was registered against him at Agra’s Shahganj police station. He was later acquitted in the case. We are finding out whether any other cases are pending against him… the help of the police in various states has been sought,” he said.
The stampede occurred at Phulrai village under Sikandra Rao police station limits in Hathras. When Pal was leaving in his car, thousands of devotees ran towards his vehicle and began collecting dust from the path in an act of devotion. To control the crowd, the volunteers and those in charge of the security from Pal’s organisation started pushing the people back. Several devotees fell around an embankment and were crushed by the crowd. Amid the chaos, other attendees started running, triggering the stampede.