Six people have been arrested for the stampede during a religious congregation in Hathras that left 121 people dead.
Those arrested have been identified as Ram Ladaite (50), Upendra Singh Yadav (62), Megh Singh (61), Mukesh Kumar (38), Manju Yadav (30) and Manju Devi (40). They were members of the organising committee of the ‘satsang’ held by self-styled godman Bhole Baba.
Ladaiti is from Mainpuri and Upendra Yadav is from Firozabad. The other four are from Sikandara Rau in Hathras.
These arrests have been made under the aegis of the ADG (Agra).
The accused told police that they were in charge of gathering crowds and getting donations. In addition, they looked after crowd management, setting up of the tent, parking of vehicles, cleanliness etc. As sewadars, they were given different kinds of uniforms to wear.
Men and women who control the crowds were given black commando like dresses and they would manage the attendees as per their own devices.
The arrested also claimed that the dust off the Baba’s feet is an antidote to many problems.
It was also their duty to guide Baba’s vehicle through the crowds.
On Tuesday, when the Baba’s convoy left the venue, the guards let the crowds free to run to gather the dust left behind. When people- mostly women—started to fall, these organisers left.
They have also said that people from the administration and police were discouraged from filming these gatherings. They would go as far as misbehaving with those who attempted to record these.
The main organiser, Dev Prakash Madhukar, has still not been arrested and an award of one lakh has been announced for any information on him.
Meanwhile, all the deceased have been identified. The biggest numbers are from Hathras, followed by Agra, Aligarh and Mathura.
