A lawsuit was filed against Bhole Baba, also known as Suraj Pal Singh, in connection with the Hathras stampede incident. Today, Baba expressed his distress over the tragedy and urged the affected families to trust the legal system.
In a separate development, Dev Prakash Madhukar, the primary suspect in the Hathras stampede that resulted in 121 fatalities on July 2, was apprehended on Friday evening. On July 3, the state government established a three-member judicial panel, led by a retired high court judge, to investigate the Hathras disaster and explore the potential of a deliberate plot behind the stampede.
WHAT HAPPENED SO FAR:
- Suraj Pal Singh has been charged in relation to the Hathras stampede case, with the first case being registered against him at the court of Patna Chief Judicial Magistrate. Bhole Baba expressed his sorrow over the incident in a video statement today, stating, “I am deeply saddened by the events that occurred on July 2. May we find the strength to endure this pain. I urge you to trust in the government and the authorities. I believe that those responsible for the chaos will face consequences. Through my lawyer, AP Singh, I have appealed to the committee members to support the affected families and the injured individuals for the rest of their lives.”
- Dev Prakash Madhukar, the main accused in the July 2 Hathras stampede, was apprehended by the Uttar Pradesh Police on Friday night. He is scheduled to appear before a local court on Saturday. Madhukar, who holds the position of ‘mukhya sevadar’ at the satsang where the stampede took place, is the sole individual named in the First Information Report (FIR). He has agreed to cooperate with the investigation and provide details about the “anti-social elements” present at the event. The Uttar Pradesh Police had offered a reward of Rs 1 lakh for any information that led to Madhukar’s arrest.
- On Saturday, the judicial commission’s team arrived at the Hathras police line to receive the investigation report regarding the Hathras incident. Dev Prakash Madhukar was apprehended near Najafgarh on Friday through technical surveillance, as confirmed by sources within the Hathras police. Subsequently, he was transported to Hathras. The police sources clarified that Madhukar did not surrender.
- In Lucknow, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath received the preliminary SIT report on the stampede. The report was presented by the ADG Agra Zone, one of the senior officers who went to Hathras to supervise the rescue and relief efforts following the stampede. The classified report includes testimonies from Hathras District Magistrate Ashish Kumar, Superintendent of Police Nipun Aggarwal, and senior health department officials who responded to the stampede emergency.
- On Friday, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, interacted with the family members of the stampede victims. Before meeting the families in Hathras, Gandhi made a visit to Aligarh to meet with the relatives of the victims from that district. Following the meetings, Gandhi urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to expedite the process of providing “maximum compensation” to the victims. One of the family members who spoke with Gandhi mentioned that he assured them of raising the issue in Parliament to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.