Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during his visit to Hathras stampede site. (Image/PTI)
The statement came after an old picture of the SP chief at an event hosted by Bhole Baba went viral after the Hathras stampede in which 121 people were killed.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday took a dig at Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav while addressing a press conference on the stampede at the Bhole Baba shrine in Hathras, in which 121 people were killed.
The chief minister, without naming names, said everyone knew about the deity’s “political allies”. The statement came after an old picture of Yadav at an event hosted by Bhole Baba went viral after the Hathras tragedy.
“There are some people who only know politics, even when things are tragic. It is known who are Baba’s political allies. Everyone must have seen the pictures of people who attended Baba’s events. I think the matter should be investigated,” said Adityanath while ordering a judicial inquiry to analyze whether the incident was either a human error or an act of sabotage. Initially, Yadav blamed the Yogi government for the stampede, calling it a result of negligence.
Reacting to the chief minister’s allegations, Samajwadi Party MP RK Choudhary said the UP government wants to turn the Hathras stampede into a Hindu-Muslim issue. He said the Hathras administration was to be blamed for the incident as some of the injured also died due to lack of proper treatment.
Abhishek Mishra, former MLA and senior SP leader, also called the tragedy a total failure of the UP government. “There is a standard procedure for organizing any event. They have to check the number of people who will come to the event and they have to plan. Instead of paying money, they have to own it,” said Mishra.
Where is Bhole Baba?
Amidst the political war of words, the main question is about where is Bhole Baba absconding after the tragedy. Although the UP Police has registered an FIR against Devprakash Madhukar aka ‘Mukhya Sewadar’ and other organizers of the event, the deity’s name has not been included in the FIR.
“We conducted raids at Baba’s Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri district but could not find him,” said deputy superintendent of police Sunil Kumar.
Bhole Baba aka Narayan Hari has a large following not only in UP but also in the neighboring states of Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Baba’s followers say he is also known for his political connections – a fact that police say the godman could use to his advantage to avoid arrest.
What is an FIR?
The FIR in the incident reads: “Around 2:00 pm, when Bhole Baba was leaving the place in his car, devotees started collecting dust from the road where the car was going. Many lakhs were raised, causing those who were sitting and prostrating to be crushed, leading to to scream. On the other side of the GT road, the crowd ran through the flooded fields and ditches that were three meters deep. They were forcibly intercepted by the organizing committee and the welding stick guards. This increased the pressure on the crowd, causing women, children, and men Many were seriously injured, and the situation turned fatal for some due to the chaos and stampede.
The FIR added that the police and administrative officials present at the spot tried their best to take the injured to the hospital but no cooperation was given by the committee.
“The organizers have invited a large number of people for the program by hiding the actual number of devotees who have gathered there. Also, the permission requirement for traffic control at the venue was not fulfilled by the organizers,” the FIR said.
The FIR also blamed the committee for destroying evidence by clearing the scene of the incident.
“Thus, due to the actions taken by the above organizers and service providers, many innocent people were killed and seriously injured. The actions of these organizers and servants is a crime under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita section 105 (culpable homicide not including murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 126 (2) (wrongful restraint), 223 (Disobedience to order promulgated). by public servant), 238 (causing loss of evidence),” said the FIR, which was filed by Brijesh Pandey , sub inspector outpost in-charge, Pura Police Station, Sikandra Rao, Hathras.
The Uttar Pradesh government launched two helpline numbers – 05722227041 and 05722227042 – after the Hathras stampede.
