UP Governor constitutes three-member judicial commission to probe Hathras incident

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 3 : In view of the tragic Hathras stampede that claimed 121 lives, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel on Wednesday constituted a three-member Judicial Inquiry Commission under the chairmanship of Justice (retd) Brijesh Kumar Srivastava to ensure comprehensiveness of the subject matter and transparency in the inquiry.
The three members of the Commission are Brijesh Kumar Srivastava, Hon'ble Justice (Retd.), Allahabad High Court (chairman), Hemant Rao (Retd., IAS) Member and Bhavesh Kumar Singh (Retd., IPS) Member.
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 Judicial Commission will find out if the organizers complied with the permission granted by the District Administration and the conditions mentioned. It will also investigate the aspects of the possibility of this incident being an accident a conspiracy or any other planned criminal incident.
The Judicial Commission will also investigate the arrangements made by the District Administration and Police for crowd control and maintaining law and order during the program and other aspects related to them;
The Commission will also be responsible for ascertaining the reasons and circumstances due to which the above incident occurred and to give suggestions regarding preventing the recurrence of such incidents in the future.
The tragic stampede incident that occurred on Tuesday in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras claimed the lives of 121 people and as many as 35 people are injured.
The prime facie report submitted by the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of the Sikandra Rao division of the district suggests that the stampede occurred as devotees rushed to seek blessing from 'Bhole Baba', the preacher at the religious congregation Satsang, as he was about to leave the venue after the prayer.
The preacher 'Bhole Baba' identified as Suraj Pal is also known by the names of Narayan Sakar Hari and Jagat Guru Vishwahari.
As per 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.
Some people ran towards the adjoining field filled with mud, due to which they fell down and were crushed by other devotees, the report stated.
"The injured were taken to the hospital by the police and security personnel present at the site", it further said.
Meanwhile, an FIR has been lodged against Devprakash Madhukar, referred to as 'Mukhya Sewadar' and other organizers of the 'Satsang'. The preacher 'Bhole Baba', who is currently untraceable, has not been named in the FIR.
Uttar Pradesh police have launched a search operation at Ram Kutir Charitable Trust in Mainpuri district.
FIR has been filed under Sections 105, 110, 126(2), 223, and 238 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.