'We Have No Involvement': News18 Tracks Down 'Organisers' of Hathras Event, Police Summon Them to Join Probe | Exclusive

People who made monetary donations, arranged water and food, and provided other logistical support for self-styled godman Suraj Pal alias Narayan Sakar Hari aka Bhole Baba’s samagam (religious event) in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district, are among those named as organisers of the event where a deadly stampede took place. At least four such organisers CNN-News18 spoke to confirmed this and said they all have been summoned by the police to join the investigation.

The event, organised on July 2, led to the stampede that claimed 121 lives and left at least 31 seriously injured. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath ordered a judicial probe into the matter on Wednesday saying that none of those responsible for the tragedy would escape strict legal action.

CNN-News18’s team in Hathras tracked down as many as 78 individuals who were named as organisers of the event and tried reaching out to each one of them. While 74 of them remained unreachable even more than 24 hours after the incident and had their cellphones switched off, the team managed to establish contact with four.

Speaking to CNN-News18, one such organiser, Mukesh Kumar, said he had set up a stall to offer drinking water for the attendees at the samagam. “I did not meet the organisers but my wife frequents such events. We denied any financial contribution but offered to provide for drinking water for the followers. This is the reason my name was listed among the organisers. On Wednesday local police came to our house enquiring about me and asked me to give an official statement,” said Kumar, a resident of a village near Etah, not more than 30 kilometers from the stampede site.

The wife of Ram Sevak, another person named as an organiser, said she had made a monetary contribution to the event. “We have no involvement and we only gave some donations. That is why our name has been included among the organisers. We have been connected with Baba only for the past year. My husband has paralysis and cannot walk. I also do not keep well and therefore we did not visit the samagam on July 2,” the woman said, adding that she believes in Hari Sakar’s way of spiritual healing and that she feels she too has benefited from it in some ways.

A 50-year-old resident of Hathras, Rajkumari, also agreed when CNN-News18 called her to confirm if she was one of the organisers of the event. She said she contributed food packets and drinking water for the attendees.

“My name is among organisers only because I arranged for such logistics. I was aware that my name is being included among organisers,” she said. When asked if she too has benefited from Sakar’s preaching, she said it has helped her in ways more than one. “We had some problems in our family which I believe I could overcome only because of my association with Baba,” Rajkumari said.

The fourth person to be named among the organisers was Manju Devi, who lives with her family in Sikandra Rao, the place where the event was organised.

She said they arranged for “Jal Seva” to make drinking water available for those attending the samagam.

“We had set up a tent to serve the attendees with potable water,” said Manju Devi. She said she or her family had nothing to do with the core organisers’ committee and that she does not know Dev Prakash Madhukar, the main accused named in the police FIR.

“We have only been named because of our contribution and we have no role to play in the tragedy. We made this contribution only because of our faith towards Sakar Baba,” Devi said, adding that personnel from the Kachaura police post on Wednesday arrived at her house asking her to give a statement and join the probe.

Other than these four people, none of the remaining 74 named as organisers responded to calls made by CNN-News18.

Yogi Adityanath said on Wednesday that his administration will get to the roots of this tragedy and that the accountability will be fixed on all those who are responsible for these deaths. Underlining the seriousness of the matter, the CM said that several aspects need a deeper probe and that a judicial inquiry will be conducted into this matter headed by a retired high court judge.