Police Say Sevadars Ran Away As Hathras Stampede Broke Out, Six Arrested But Main Accused Absconding

Six persons were arrested in the Hathras stampede case on Thursday, while the police have announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for the arrest of the main accused Dev Prakash Madhukar, who was the ‘mukhya sevadar’ at the religious congregation by preacher Bhole Baba.

A non-bailable warrant will be issued against the ‘mukhya sevadar’ Dev Prakash Madhukar in the case, IG Shalabh Mathur said.

A total of 121 people, mostly women, were killed in the deadly incident and 31 were injured. Police said they were not allowed at the camps by organisers and, when the stampede happened, most of the sevadars fled and stopped people from making videos.

The stampede took place due to followers attempting to collect dust (charan raj) from where the preacher had walked on the ground, police said.

Late on July 2, the police filed an FIR against the organisers of the satsang accusing them of cramming 2.5 lakh people into the venue when they had obtained permission for only 80,000.

Madhukar and other organisers have been named as the accused in the FIR filed at the Sikandrarau police station. The preacher, who is called Jagat Guru Saakar Vishwahari Bhole Baba, is not on the list.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who visited Hathras on Wednesday (July 3) and met the injured, was asked why the preacher was not named in the FIR as an accused. “Prima facie, the case has been filed against those who applied for permission for the event. Whoever is responsible for this will come under its purview,” he said.

The state government has also formed a three-member judicial commission headed by a retired high court judge to probe the tragedy, also looking into the possibility that a “conspiracy” was behind the stampede. The panel will submit its report in two months.

(With PTI inputs)