HATHRAS: A judicial commission investigating the deadly stampede at a ‘satsang’ in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, in which 121 people died on July 2 last year, has placed the blame squarely on “administrative lapses” while acknowledging the possibility of a larger conspiracy. The report did not hold Bhole Baba aka Narayan Saakar Hari personally responsible for the incident and instead pointed to administrative failures and his ‘sevadars’ as key factors contributing to the tragedy.
In its 1,680-page report, tabled in the UP assembly on Wednesday, the panel said while permission had been granted for an audience of 80,000, the turnout swelled to 2.5 lakh to 3 lakh. It said the administration did not make any effort to check the arrangements.
‘Basic safeguards ignored’: Hathras panel on stampede
Led by retired Allahabad HC judge Brijesh Kumar Srivastava, along with retired IAS officer Hemant Rao and former IPS officer Bhavesh Kumar Singh, the commission said “basic safeguards had been ignored”. In response to the findings, the commission has put forward more than 20 recommendations aimed at preventing such disasters in the future. The report pointed out that there had been no proper route plan for the arrival and departure of self-styled preacher Bhole Baba, a factor that added to the disorder. It added that fire safety protocols and emergency measures, conditions required for event approval, had never been implemented, nor had the administration made any effort to verify these arrangements.
It said the situation became even more precarious as Bhole Baba’s ‘sevadars’ took charge of crowd control rather than law enforcement agencies, preventing police from overseeing the gathering. This, the commission noted, raised the possibility of a conspiracy. “No prior information regarding individuals posted as sevadars, commanders etc was shared with police, hence their verification remained incomplete. Such individuals could potentially be involved in a conspiracy to discredit govt, amplify the event, or exploit the situation,” the report said.
The commission added that although preparations for the event had begun nearly 10 days in advance, with devotees arriving in phases, there had been no inspection by officials from police, administration, fire department, PWD, UP Roadways, or any other relevant agency. The lack of oversight and coordination, the panel concluded, significantly contributed to the tragedy. Following the report’s release, Bhole Baba’s advocate A P Singh “welcomed” its conclusions, asserting it had cleared his client of any wrongdoing. “The judicial commission constituted by CM Adityanath has given a clean chit to my client. The report also exposed the conspirators who made allegations against my client,” he said.
