At least 116 people have been killed due to a stampede at a religious congregation in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district on Tuesday, July 2. The ‘Satsang’ or a prayer meeting was held in the Phulrai village of Sikanda Rau Tehsil which was attended by thousands of people. The State Government has shared that the number of devotees attending the prayer meeting exceeded the number permitted by the administration, hence leading to a stampede.
27 Bodies Received By Chief Medical Officer, Three Bodies Of Children Also Found
Initially, Hathras District Magistrate Ashish Kumar confirmed that according to figures from the community health center, 50 to 60 people were killed. Later by the evening of Tuesday, Agra Range Inspector General Shalabh Mathur gave a total number of 116 deaths at the stampede. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Umesh Kumar Tripathi claimed receiving 27 bodies, out of which 25 were females and two were males. Shalabh Mathus later said that the 27 bodies are in the Etah mortuary, and the rest are in Hathras, including which three are those of children. They have been sent to different places for the post-mortem.
Satsang Held In Honor Of A Local Guru, Stampede Occured When Devotees Were Leaving
The authorities have said that they are making sure the injured get the best treatment, and are arranging to register a case regarding people who took permission for the event. A woman attendee shared that the Satsang was held in honor of a local guru, Bhole Baba or Narayan Saakar Hari. The devotees were stopped from leaving before the guru’s car left, leading to a crowd building up in a congested space right before the stampede occurred.
Compensation For The Families Announced, CM Yogi Adityanath Asks For Relief And Rescue Operations
A compensation of Rs. 2 lakh has been publicized for the families of the victims and Rs. 50,000 for those who got injured. In an X post, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that instructions have been provided to officials to conduct relief and rescue operations and provide proper treatment to the injured. A committee has also been set up to investigate the incident. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Draupadi Murmu, and Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi have expressed their condolences to those who suffered losses in the incident.