Death toll in Hathras stampede rises to 121


Hathras: The death toll in the tragic stampede at a religious congregation in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras has surged to 121, according to a senior official on Wednesday.

The Office of the Relief Commissioner reported that 28 people sustained injuries in the unfortunate incident that occurred on Tuesday.

Among the casualties, 19 remain unidentified.

On Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh Police registered an FIR against the organizers of the religious event.

The state’s chief secretary, Manoj Kumar Singh, had initially reported 116 deaths on Tuesday.

The majority of the victims, barring seven children and a man, were women.

The stampede occurred around 3.30 pm when thousands had gathered for a ‘satsang’ by religious preacher Bhole Baba at Phulrai village in the Sikandrarau area. The tragic incident unfolded as Baba was leaving the venue.

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the organisers of a religious congregation in Hathras, where a tragic stampede claimed the lives of 116 people.

The ‘mukhya sevadar’ Devprakash Madhukar and other organisers have been specifically named in the FIR, which was filed at the Sikandara Rao police station late Tuesday, according to a senior officer from Uttar Pradesh Police.

The charges in the FIR include sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, such as 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), and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence).