New Delhi:
The district official – a sub divisional magistrate – who permitted ‘godman’ Bhole Baba’s ‘prayer meet’ in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, at which a stampede killed 121 people – never inspected the venue, a team investigating the tragedy said in a report submitted to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The SIT report also held the event organisers and local administration, including the police, responsible for the stampede and the deaths, stating they “failed to make adequate arrangements” for so large a crowd. Neither local officials nor the cops took the event “seriously”, the report said.
Six officials, including the SDM who allowed the ‘satsang’ to take place, have been suspended, and nine people, including the main organiser – Devprakash Madhukar – have been arrested.
Bhole Baba, whose real name is Suraj Pal Singh, has not been named as an accused or questioned.
