A religious congregation in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras ended in tragedy after at least 116 people lost their lives and several others were left seriously injured in a stampede. The incident occurred at a ‘satsang’ event in Pulrai village where people had gathered in large numbers.
Recalling the horror, an eyewitness narrated how people fell atop each other into a drain as they were leaving after Satsang ended.
Shakuntala Devi, one of the attendees told the news agency that the stampede took place while people were leaving the venue at the end of the ‘Satsang’ and in a hurry, they fell atop each other.
Hathras Stampede Live Updates: Toll Rises To 50, CM Yogi To Meet Families of Victims
“After the ‘Satsang’ ended, everyone came out. Outside, the road was built at a height with a drain below. One after the other, people started falling into it. Some people got crushed,” Shakuntala Devi added.
Another eyewitness, on the other hand, blamed police negligence for the tragedy and demanded suspension of all police personnel involved.
“This incident is not an isolated one; it occurred due to police negligence on the road. The police did not handle the situation properly. We want CM Yogi to suspend all the police personnel involved. I asked the DM what would happen to those who lost their lives; the police officers brushed me off, and the DM asked me to go home,” IANS quoted an attendee as saying.
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.
Mahesh Chandra, the member of the committee that organised the Satsang, told India Today that the stampede happened due to the administration’s inefficiency.
PM Modi, CM Yogi and Other Leaders React
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Lok Sabha speech on Tuesday expressed grief over the loss of lives in the Hathras stampede tragedy and paid his condolences to the families of the victims.
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also expressed shock over the incident and instructed officials to reach the accident site and carry out relief measures. Union Minister Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh also condoled the demise of over 100 people in the mishap and directed the state government to provide all possible help to the victims.
Govt Announces Compensation For Victims
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh ex gratia for the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 each for the injured.
Similarly, Prime Minister Modi also announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased in the mishap in Hathras. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000.
What Exactly Happened in Hathras Today?
Over 100 people died and several others were injured in a stampede at a religious congregation in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras on Tuesday.
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.
The stampede occurred due to overcrowding, Sikandra Rao police station SHO Ashish Kumar said.
Hathras Stampede: Investigation Launched
An FIR will be registered against the organisers of the event, a state government statement said.
According to officials, a team comprising the Agra additional director general of police and the divisional commissioner of Aligarh will probe the incident.
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