Following extreme congestion, an India stampede claimed 121 lives, according to authorities

Authorities stated on Wednesday that at least 121 people were murdered in a stampede that resulted from more than three times the number of people who were allowed to attend a Hindu religious event in northern India. The majority of the dead were women.

Even though only 80,000 people were allowed to attend the gathering on Tuesday in the Uttar Pradesh state’s Hathras district, some 200 km (125 miles) from the Indian capital, New Delhi, around 250,000 people showed up, according to an early police report.

After the event, the preacher Suraj Pal Singh, popularly known as “Bhole Baba,” released a statement in which he indicated, without providing any details, that “some anti-social elements” were to blame for the rush.

According to the police, they were attempting to locate the preacher. A banner at the location said that the event was arranged by a group of enthusiasts.

A.P. Singh, the preacher’s attorney, cited stories in the local media that claimed that Baba had never invited anyone to touch his feet or given anyone the dust that his feet had touched as justification for the followers’ flurry of activity.

Singh added that Baba’s assistants were prepared to assist the victims of the disaster.

Suffocation was the primary cause of death, according to medical professionals treating many patients at a district hospital. According to state authorities, 31 people were injured and 112 women and seven children were among the 121 deceased.

When the preacher was driving away, police reported in their First Information Report that there was pandemonium.

According to the account, thousands of devotees yelled and rushed in the direction of the car, crushing those who were sitting. A few persons who had fallen in a nearby slush and mud field were trampled.

A subordinate official at the event told the district administrator in a letter seen by Reuters that the preacher’s staff had stopped the devotees from sprinting towards the car, resulting in many of them falling to the ground.

The official said that some of the people had fled the rush by running towards some nearby open fields, but they had slipped and fallen into the mob.

“HORRIBLE SCREAMS”

Ruby, 30, and her father Chedilal had traveled over 300 kilometers (185 miles) to attend, and they were among the deceased.

Chedilal gave Reuters a description of the stampede as follows: “I heard terrifying screams from women and there were bodies piled up on the ground near the exit.”
“I was scared, I ran away and started calling my daughter on the phone,” he stated.

Chedilal said he eventually located his daughter’s body in the Hathras district hospital in the morning, following a torturous night of hospital visits in search of her whereabouts.
Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of the state, visited the scene, which is located next to a busy highway amid paddy fields, on Wednesday and spoke with a few of the injured. Rainfall had partially flooded the location, which was covered in waste.
In addition to the police investigation, Adityanath stated a court inquiry would be carried out into the incident to ascertain who was at fault.

Adityanath told reporters that the judicial panel might assist in developing a framework to handle such future incidents and “prevent repetition of such an incident.” “We will ensure this.”

In India, religious events with sizable audiences frequently experience stampedes and other mishaps; the majority of these incidents are attributed to inadequate crowd management.