UP Hathras Stampede: Death toll rises to 121, number of injured at 28

The death toll in the stampede incident that occurred during a religious congregation in Hathras district, Uttar Pradesh, has risen to 121, according to officials. The tragedy, which unfolded on Tuesday, also left 28 people injured, the Office of the Relief Commissioner reported on Wednesday.

Details of the Injured
Of the 28 injured, six are receiving treatment at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in Aligarh, six at Deen Dayal Hospital in Aligarh, nine at Bagla Hospital in Hathras, one at Agra SN Medical College, and six at Etah Medical College in Hathras.

Search for Bhole Baba
Uttar Pradesh police have launched a search operation for Narayan Saakar Hari, also known as Bhole Baba, the preacher of the 'Satsang' where the stampede occurred. Deputy SP Sunil Kumar said, "We did not find Baba ji inside the campus. He is not here."

FIR Filed Against Organizers
An FIR has been registered against the organizers of the event. 'Mukhya Sewadar' Devprakash Madhukar and other organizers are named as accused in the case filed at Sikandara Rao police station on Tuesday night.

Shakuntala Devi, an eyewitness, described the chaos: "There was a Satsang of Bhole Baba going on. Right after the Satsang finished, several people started coming out from there. A stampede took place as the road was uneven and people fell on each other."

Chief Minister Orders Thorough Investigation
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has promised a thorough investigation to determine whether the incident was an accident or a conspiracy. He stated, "Doing politics instead of expressing condolences on such an incident is extremely unfortunate and condemnable. The government is already sensitive in this matter and the government will get to the bottom of this matter whether this is an accident or a conspiracy, and give appropriate punishment to all those responsible for this incident."

A forensic team, along with a dog squad, arrived at the incident site to collect evidence. The Chief Minister has formed a team under the chairmanship of Additional DG Agra to provide a detailed report on the incident.

The stampede took place at around 3:30 PM on Tuesday near Phulrai village in the Sikandrarau area when the crowd, gathered for a 'Satsang' by Bhole Baba, began to exit the venue. Of the 121 fatalities, 19 victims are yet to be identified. Most of the casualties were women, except for seven children and one man. Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh had reported the death toll at 116.

(With inputs from agencies)