Six organisers of Hathras gathering arrested: Police

Lucknow: The organisers of satsangs of Narayan Sakar Hari or Bhole baba did not allow police or administrative interference when it came to controlling crowds at the event, and also did not let any devotee or other person shoot videos of the event, the police in Hathras said after questioning six sevadars or organisers who have been arrested so far.

Six sevadars, including two women, were arrested, the police informed the media. Separately, it announced a ₹1 lakh reward for anyone providing information on the whereabouts of the prime accused, Dev Prakash Madhukar, who was the chief organiser of the satsang where at least 121 people lost their lives in the stampede.

Action Against Baba?
On questions whether action would be taken against the baba, Shalabh Mathur, inspector general Aligarh range said permission was taken in the name of the organising committee, which is why accountability would be fixed on it, but if during investigation evidence emerged against more people, they would be made part of the probe.

Mathur said during the questioning it was revealed that followers of the baba believe his "charan-raj" or "feet-dirt" can dispel any kind of grief or sadness. The sevadars - men and women in uniforms of black dungarees and pink outfits - apart from controlling the crowd and collecting donations, also ensured smooth passage of the baba's cavalcade amid the crowd wanting to touch him and his feet. That day too, sevadars stopped the crowd from coming close to his cavalcade, but when it passed, they left the crowd uncontrolled which led to chaos and stampede while sevadars left swiftly.

"According to questioning and videos it has been observed that they try to control crowds themselves and they have reservations about allowing the police and administration in playing a role," Mathur said. He claimed that force was deployed at the event, including traffic, fire, civil police as well as the Provincial Armed Constabulary.

Meanwhile, a statement from the lawyer of the baba, AP Singh, sought to pin the blame for the incident on a possible "conspiracy".

"The way some anti-social elements, under a planned conspiracy sought to create situation of a stampede after he left, a probe is taking place including the SIT (special investigation team) and the judicial enquiry and we have faith in the investigations," Singh said. "We have our sympathies with the followers and Sakar Hari has also expressed his sympathy for them. Sevadars are also ensuring no body lies abandoned and injured get treatment and nobody is deprived of care for want of money or facility. Cooperation will be offered in the process."

Singh said, "People say devotees ran after him. Narayan Sakar Hari does not have a ritual of making people touch his feet. There is also no system of taking donations. He does not keep a phone or any social media accounts."