Eyewitnesses recount stampede at religious gathering that claimed 121 lives
Eyewitnesses to the Hathras stampede have recounted the horrors that transpired during the final hours of the event. The stampede took place in Phulrai village, where a self-styled godman called Bhole Baba was holding a "satsang" on Tuesday. As of Wednesday, 121 people have died. The catastrophe of an event began when thousands of devotees hurried toward his vehicle, gathering dust from the path as he prepared to leave. As crowds swelled, several people sitting on the ground got crushed.
Eyewitness accounts detail horrifying scenes of stampede
Eyewitnesses reported scenes of chaos and panic as devotees scrambled to exit the event amidst extreme humidity and slippery conditions. Shakuntala, an eyewitness, described a scene of people falling one after another due to an uneven road outside the venue. Another witness recounted how bystanders were pushed into a drain by the exiting crowd. "One after the other, people started falling into it. Some people got crushed," she recalled, as per The Times of India.
Survivors share heartbreaking stories amidst search for missing
Outside the district's Sikandara Rao Trauma Center, the situation was no less different, as the bodies of the deceased lay scattered, surrounded by stunned and mourning relatives. One man was seen carrying his deceased three-year-old son while searching for his missing wife. "His mother is still missing...I never imagined that I will have to go to the mortuary carrying my son's body in my lap," he told News18.
Saw mother's body in viral WhatsApp video: Victim's sons
Two boys, who also lost their mother in the incident, said they spotted their mother in a viral WhatsApp video of the satsang. "After that, we ran to the satsang and only after searching for several hours, we found her in the mortuary," the boys reportedly said. Another woman disclosed that she lost her both her sister-in-law and son-in-law in the stampede.
Bhole Baba's security blamed for blocking exit
Eyewitnesses reported that the security team of "Bhole Baba" blocked the exit, contributing to the chaos. Parvana Devi stated, "As soon as Baba left, we too thought of leaving but got stuck in the crowd." Another eyewitness recalled how his private army (also known as sevadaars) dressed in black, blocked the route for the Baba's safe exit. Raja Ram of Lakhimpur Kheri said 250 "sevadaars" formed a wall before the exit point to let Baba's convoy reach the highway.
FIR registered
An FIR has been registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 126 (2) (wrongful restraint), 223 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by the public servant), 238 (causing disappearance of evidence). Devdas Madhukar, the head sevadar, has been named alongside other organizers. However, "Bhole Baba" has not been named in the FIR.
