NEW DELHI: Devprakash Madhukar, the primary suspect in the July 2 Hathras stampede that left 121 people dead, was arrested by Hathras police from Najafgarh in Delhi, officials said on Saturday.
A CJM court later sent Madhukar to 14-day judicial custody.
The arrest was carried out by a special operations Group late Friday night.
Madhukar, who had been approached by certain political groups recently, worked as a fundraiser for events hosted by self-proclaimed godman Surajpal, also known as Narayan Sakar Hari or Bhole Baba.
Hathras Superintendent of Police, Nipun Agarwal, confirmed the arrest and said that police will seek remand for Madhukar.
“His financial transactions, money trails are being looked into, and call detail records also being checked,” Agarwal added. However, contradicting the police account, Madhukar’s lawyer, A P Singh, claimed on Friday night that Madhukar had voluntarily surrendered to the police in Delhi, where he had gone for medical treatment.
Around 2:15 p.m. on Saturday, Madhukar was escorted by police to the Bagla Combined District Hospital in Hathras for a medical examination under heavy security presence.
Madhukar concealed his face using a handkerchief and had a stole wrapped around his head.
Described as the ‘mukhya sevadar’ or main organizer of the ‘satsang‘ during which the stampede occurred, Madhukar is the lone individual named in the FIR lodged at Sikandra Rao police station in connection with this incident.
“Today, we have surrendered Devprakash Madhukar, who has been called the main organiser in the FIR in the Hathras case, after calling the police, the SIT and the STF in Delhi since he was undergoing treatment here,” stated lawyer Singh in a video on Friday night.
Singh further remarked, “We had promised we would not apply for anticipatory bail since we did no wrong. What is our crime? He is an engineer and a heart patient. Doctors said his condition is stable now and so we surrendered today to join the probe.”
Singh emphasized that the police should consider Madhukar’s health condition while recording his statement or questioning him.
“We did not do anything like filing anticipatory bail or moving court which would have been viewed as an effort to save ourselves and being scared… questions were being raised about his (Madhukar’s) whereabouts and if he had run away,” Singh added.
He assured that Madhukar would cooperate with the investigation and share information regarding the “anti-social elements” at the event.
The Uttar Pradesh Police had previously announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for any information leading to Madhukar’s arrest.
On July 3, Supreme Court lawyer Singh, who also represents Surajpal (Narayan Sakar Hari/Bhole Baba), claimed that “anti-social elements” were responsible for the tragedy that unfolded during the ‘satsang’.
Surajpal had expressed readiness to cooperate fully with state authorities and had advocated for a thorough investigation into the incident, as per Singh’s statement.
Till Thursday, authorities had apprehended six individuals, including two female volunteers, who were part of the organizing committee for Bhole Baba’s ‘satsang’.
An FIR was filed on July 2 under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 126 (2) (wrongful restraint), 223 (disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant), and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence).
On July 3, the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a three-member judicial commission, led by a retired high court judge, to investigate the Hathras tragedy and explore potential conspiracies behind the stampede.
Authorities committed to unearth the complete set of circumstances surrounding this unfortunate event, ensuring accountability and measures to prevent such incidents in the future.
