Rahul Gandhi Leaves For Hathras, Will Meet Stampede Victims’ Families

New Delhi: Leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi left for Hathras. He will be meeting the families affected by the stampede, that claimed the lives of 123 people.

The stampede took place on Tuesday evening at a satsang of religious preacher Narayan Saakar Hari, also known as ‘Bhole Baba’.

Uttar Pradesh Police conducted a search operation at Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri on Thursday for ‘Bhole Baba’, a self-styled godman who conducted a satsang in Hathras.

An FIR has been registered on the incident naming organisers of the prayer meeting but ‘Bhole Baba’ has not been named yet.

#WATCH | Delhi: Leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi leaves for stampede-affected Hathras.

He will be meeting the families affected due to the stampede, that claimed the lives of 121. pic.twitter.com/rqJ4u5HQeS

— ANI (@ANI) July 5, 2024

Earlier on July 4, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mainpuri Sunil Kumar said, “Baba has not been found inside the ashram.”

“There are 40-50 sevadars inside the ashram. He (‘Bhole Baba’) is not inside, neither he was yesterday nor he is today…” said DSP Mainpuri Sunil Kumar.SP City Rahul Mithas said, “I had come to check the security of the ashram. Nobody was found here.”

On Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited the spot and ordered a judicial probe into the incident.

A three-member Judicial Inquiry Commission under the chairmanship of Justice (retd) Brijesh Kumar Srivastava has been constituted to ensure comprehensiveness of the subject matter and transparency in the inquiry, according to an official statement.

The Judicial Commission will investigate the various aspects of the Hathras stampede in the next two months and after the investigation, a report will be submitted to the State Government.

The preacher ‘Bhole Baba’ identified as Suraj Pal is also known by the names of Narayan Sakar Hari and Jagat Guru Vishwahari.

As per the prima facie report, the devotees rushed to seek blessings and collect soil from around the preacher’s feet, but were stopped by the security personnel of ‘Bhole Baba’. Later, they started pushing one another due to which several people fell to the ground, leading to chaos at the site.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)