6 arrested in connection with stampede in north India, police say
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
The stampede that killed 121 people happened on July 2 in the Hathras district of India's northern Uttar Pradesh state.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
NEW DELHI - Indian police said on July 4 that they had arrested six people in connection with a stampede at a Hindu religious event in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh
The stampede happened on July 2 in Phulrai Mughal Garhi village of Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district, where about 250,000 people had gathered to listen to preacher Suraj Pal Singh, also known as “Bhole Baba”.
The organisers of the event had permission for a gathering of only 80,000 people, an initial police report said.
Baba said in a statement on July 3 that the stampede was caused by “anti-social elements” but did not elaborate.
The four men and two women arrested were aides to Baba and were involved in organising the event, but fled when the stampede broke out, police said.
Asked about Baba’s role, a senior police officer said the preacher was not named in the case they had registered.
“If there is a need, we will question (him)... It is too early to say whether he had a role,” Uttar Pradesh Police Inspector-General Shalabh Mathur said.
Mr A.P. Singh, the preacher’s lawyer, said he would also represent the six people who had been arrested.
“Police are doing their job but the people they have arrested are the people whose family members are victims of the stampede,” Mr Singh said.
“Those who actually caused the stampede have run away.”
The stampede broke out on the afternoon of July 2 when attendees were exiting the canopied ground by a highway where the event was held, the initial police report said.
Several people ran towards the preacher’s vehicle but were stopped by his aides, leading to a commotion, during which some people fell to the ground and were trampled, officials said.
Others who tried to run to open fields to escape the stampede slipped and fell on the uneven ground in the path of the rest of the crowd, and were unable to get up.
Mr Singh said Baba never asked anyone to touch his feet or gave anyone the dust touched by his feet, countering media reports that cited these as reasons for people running towards his vehicle.
The dead, who included 112 women and seven children, have all been identified, and their bodies have been handed over to their families, officials said on July 4.
Mr Rahul Gandhi, the leader of India’s main opposition Congress party, plans to visit Hathras soon “and speak to the people who are affected”, Congress officials said.
Stampedes and other accidents are not uncommon at religious events and places in India involving large crowds, and most of these are blamed on poor crowd management. REUTERS
