Hathras stampede: 3-member judicial panel formed to probe incident

HATHRAS: Retired judge of the Allahabad High Court Brijesh Kumar Srivastav will head the three-member judicial inquiry commission set up by the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday to probe the Hathras stampede incident, according to an official statement.

The commission, tasked to complete the investigation within two months, will look into various aspects of the case including "whether this incident is an accident or a conspiracy" and the arrangements made by the district administration and police for crowd control. It will also recommend preventive steps.

The commission, formed a day after the incident following the direction of Governor Anandiben Patel, will have retired IAS officer Hemant Rao and retired IPS officer Bhavesh Kumar as its members.

The commission will investigate the arrangements made by the district administration and police for crowd control and maintaining law and order during the programme and other aspects related to them and will ascertain the reasons and circumstances due to which the said incident occurred.

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The commission has also been asked to give suggestions regarding preventing the recurrence of such incidents.

Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, "Prima facie it appears that the 'sevadars' and organisers of the Satsang tried to hide the accident and didn't offer help to the people. Usually in such programs, the police provide the outer layer of security while the internal management is looked after by the organisers and their volunteer." "We will ensure such incidents do not occur in the future, " he said, adding, "the government may put in place a Standard Operating Procedure which will guide organisation of such events in the future."