UP: At least 116 killed in stampede at 'satsang' in Hathras

This story has been updated. The previous version was published at 7:43 pm on 2 July 2024.

At least 116 died and several others were injured in a stampede at a religious congregation in a village in Hathras district on Tuesday, 2 July, police said.

The victims were part of the crowd of thousands that had gathered near Phulrai village in the Sikandrarau area for the 'satsang' by religious preacher Bhole Baba.

The deadly stampede occurred at a congregation of Baba Narayan Hari alias Saakar Vishwa Hari 'Bhole Baba', a former policeman who turned into a religious preacher two decades ago and gained a following, especially in western Uttar Pradesh.

The stampede apparently occurred due to overcrowding, Sikandara Rao police station SHO Ashish Kumar said.

The stampede took place at around 3.30 pm when Baba was leaving the venue.

Outside Sikandra Rao Community Health Centre, the closest healthcare facility from the stampede site, many continued searching for their missing family members late into the night.

Victims, dead or unconscious, were brought to the Sikandara Rao Trauma Centre in trucks and other vehicles. The bodies were laid outside the health centre as people milled around them.

One video clip showed a woman crying, sitting among five or six bodies in a truck. Another picture showed a man and a woman lying lifeless in another vehicle.

Eyewitness Shakuntala Devi told PTI that the stampede took place while people were leaving the venue at the end of the 'satsang'. They fell atop each other, she said.

According to officials, a team comprising the Agra additional director general of police and the divisional commissioner of Aligarh will probe the incident.

The Uttar Pradesh government said an FIR will be registered against the organisers of the programme.