The death toll from a stampede at a religious congregation here rose to 121 on Wednesday, with Uttar Pradesh police registering an FIR against organizers, accusing them of concealing evidence and flouting conditions as 2.5 million gathered for an event where only 80,000 people were allowed people.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is likely to visit a spot near Phulrai village in Sikandar Rau area where a stampede took place on Tuesday afternoon when a crowd of thousands gathered for religious preacher Bhole Baba’s ‘satsang’.
According to the aid commissioner’s office, although the death toll has risen to 121, the number of injured in the incident is 28.
On Tuesday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh put the death toll at 116. Except for seven children and one man, all the victims were women.
While the state police filed an FIR against the organizers, the name of the choir or ‘satsang’ conductor Jagat Guru Saakar Vishwahari does not figure in the list of accused in the FIR, though his name is in the complaint.
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The FIR alleged that the organizers concealed the actual number of devotees coming for the ‘satsang’ when they sought permission, did not cooperate in traffic management and hid evidence after a stampede broke out after people gathered there to collect mud from the road. Baba’s vehicle was passing.
The FIR apparently made it clear to the police and the administration that they had done everything possible with the available resources.
A first information report (FIR) filed at the Sikandar Rao police station late on Tuesday contained the names of ‘Mukhya Swadar’ Duprakash Madhukar and other organizers, a senior police officer told PTI.
The organizers applied for permits for about 80,000 people, for which the police and administration made arrangements.
However, over 2.5 million people gathered at the event. By not complying with the permit conditions, the GT road witnessed a traffic jam and police and administrative officials were working to clear it, the FIR said.
